A California Dream
by Beth Smith
Summary: Sunshine meets a new girl in Alexandria...So how will his girlfriend from California react? COMPLETE
1. California Dreaming

DISCLAIMER: None of the Titans are mine. Neither are the coaches or Colonel Bass or Emma. Rachel Shannon, Julie Bertier, Marshall Harris, Kasey Bertier, and the immediate families of the aforementioned characters are mine. JoAnna Bass is also mine. I know there is really a Mrs. Bass, but her character here is mine. Señora McLamb is my real Spanish teacher's name, I just threw her back about 30 years. So she belongs to herself. Coke belongs to the Coca-Cola company, I think Dr. Pepper does, too. Nehi belongs to itself. The lyrics to "California Dreaming" belong to John Phillips (I think). At least they were done by the Mamas and the Papas. I have disclaimed my butt off, so now comes the show! OK, so I took out the lyrics because of the anti-songfic rule. -cries- 

MY NOTES: To Shannon, since you wanted a "Beth original." (I hope to see Lone Star State of Mind soon. It doesn't have to be a good movie. Ryan Hurst's prescence in it will make it worth my time. ;-) )

Chapter 1: California Dreaming

Ronnie 'Sunshine' Bass was on the front porch of his family's big white house in Alexandria, Virginia. He sighed. As much as he loved playing football for the TC Williams Titans, he couldn't imagine ever calling Alexandria home. He couldn't stand the chill in the fall air. He missed the warm California sun.

He wondeed what Rachel Shannon was doing. Rachel. Just the thought of that girl made Ronnie ache. She had been his girlfriend for a little over a year in California. She was so pretty! Tall, slim, with a deep tan, brown hair with natural blonde highlights, and green eyes. She had made all the guys stop and stare. But her heart belonged to Ronnie Bass. And his belonged to her.

Ronnie tugged at the turned out ends of his blonde hair. "She even liked my hair the old way," he thought.

"Dad," Ronnie called, "I'm going for a walk!"

"OK, son. See you later."

Ronnie grabbed his heavy jacket and set off, pulling the jacket tighter around his shoulders as the wind picked up. "Thank God mom bought me tennis shoes," he thought. Then he rolled his eyes. In California, he'd never worn shoes, except football cleats. He's always preferred sandals, or flip-flops. He hated to have his feet stuffed in shoes. He loved flip-flops.

Rachel liked flip-flops, too. She'd always looked so pretty in the peasant blouses, bell bottoms and flip-flops... Leather headbands, blue sunglasses, hemp necklaces... Ronnie sighed. He missed her so much.

By this time, his breathing had become a little more labored. He looked back, then ahead. He guessed he'd walked almost a mile, then run two. He was headed toward the 'Burg, but it was still at least five miles away. He bit his tongue to keep from cursing the cold out loud. Then he grinned, "Yeah, that'd be just my luck. I'd start cussing and Rev'd be coming around the corner."

But it was cold. Really cold.

Ronnie let himself cool down a bit, then went into a little store. He was thirsty, and he wanted something hot. When he walked up to the counter, he was pleasantly surprised to see an old black man and his wife. They seemed equally surprised. "Hello," the man said. "Uh... are you sure you're in the right place?" Surely this young white man wasn't in a "colored" store on purpose.

"I'm not going anywhere in particular," Ronnie replied, "I just wanted a cup of coffee."

The man smiled and reached behind him for a foam cup. "Cream? Sugar?"

"One of each," Ronnie replied, a handsome smile lighting up his face and eyes.

"OK," the man replied, filling up the cup.

He handed it to Ronnie, who began to dig in his pocket for the money. Just as his hand closed around his wallet, the man said, "Hey, don't worry about it, kid. It's on the house."

"Thanks," Ronnie replied. "Thanks alot."

"You're welcome, son. Not to often we have a white boy in here."

Ronnie laughed. "My friend Rev says that me and my frined Lewie are just light-skinned brothers."

"Rev?" the old man said with a smile. "You mean Jerry Harris?"

"Yessir, Jerry Harris."

"That's my grandson."

"Really?" Ronnie asked.

"Yeah. My name's Marshall Harris."

Ronnie stuck out his hand to shake the black man's. "Ronnie Bass. Rev calls me Sunshine."

"Well, Sunshine, it's nice to meet you."

Ronnie smiled. "Nice to meet you, too."

He sat down on a stool and sipped the hot coffee. It seemed to flood his body with warmth. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander back in time. If he were in California, he'd be drinking a cold Coke, maybe skateboarding, and hanging out with Rachel. In flip-flops, probably.

Ronnie finished his coffee and said goodbye to his new friends. He tossed the empty cup in the trash can, and walked back out onto the sidewalk.

As he began to run, he could almost feel the caffeine traveling through his body. And he began to wonder why Rev's grandparents had thought it so strange for a white guy to enter their store. This Alexandria was a strange place indeed for the somewhat liberal, and very tolerant, California boy.

He kept running until he was standing in front of the white Baptist church that Rev attended. Ronnie had gone their before, and he really liked it. The people there weren't afraid to yell "Amen!" or "Hallelujah!"

Ronnie decided to go into the church for a rest. He sat down on a pew, then looked at the altar. "What the heck?" he thought. "Couldn't hurt."

He went down to the altar and kneeled down.

Ronnie prayed a while. Prayed that he'd see California again, and more importantly, that he'd see Rachel again. He hated the fall in Northern Virginia!

When he stood up, he found himself face to face with the preacher and Rev.

"Hey, y'all," Ronnie said. THen he bit his tongue. "Did I just say 'y'all'?" he asked himself. "Crap. Alexandria's gettin' to me."

Then he wondered if "crap" was an OK thing to think in church. "What're y'a... you doing here?"

"Cleaning up the church for tomorrow," Rev said. "And how about you?"

"Just takin' a rest," Ronnie replied.

Ronnie said goodbye to Rev and the preacher, and left, taking another long look around him.

He once again cursed Virginia's cold fall. He ran home from there and took a long, hot shower. He couldn't believe how tired he was! He hated the feeling of weakness that burned in his legs, and decided to run every day until his legs no longer felt weak.

He got out of the shower and pulled on his robe, towel drying his hair. "Man!" he thought, "A shower does wonders!" He thought, "I can't wait for supper!" Then he pinched himself, saying aloud, "You big idiot! You're even thinking Southern. It's dinner!"

He got dressed quickly, then ran down stairs to eat. It was tomato soup, which he liked, but never ate in California. He considered tomato soup cold weather food. But after running all day in the cold, the hot soup hit the spot.

0o0o0o0o0

Monday morning, Ronnie was in the parking lot at school. He liked school pretty much, with the exception of those who still believed this far into the year, that he was gay. Or a "CaliFORNnian." Or a "fruitcake." Or...whatever they wanted to call it. Even his new best friend, Petey, wasn't sure. He almost laughed when he thought of Petey saying, "Being your roommate and all, I gotta know."

Ronnie's reply had been, "Know what?"

Petey had stood up and pointed his finger at Ronnie, saying, "You know what I gotta know, don't mess with my mind!"

Man, Petey was funny. A little on the nutty side, but funny.

Ronnie grabbed his bookbag, then ran up to the school. He stopped abruptly at the door. Stupid hall moniters. And of course, before classes, teachers roamed the halls.

The first person Ronnie saw that morning was a tall linebacker named Gerry Bertier, who was, as always, roaming the halls with his best friend, Julius "Big Ju" Campbell. "Sunshine!" Julius called.

"What's up, man?" Ronnie asked Julius as he gave the tall black guy five.

Then he turned to Gerry, also giving him five. "What's up, ya fruitcake?" Gerry said with a smile.

Ronnie smiled. Gerry Bertier was the only person Ronnie allowed to call him "fruitcake." He guessed that Gerry had earned that right. Especially considering that, as payback, Ronnie had kissed him.

"Not much, Bertier. What's up with you?"

"Ah, nothin, I guess."

Ronnie looked over Gerry's shoulder and saw a girl standing behind him. Ronnie caught Gerry's eye and looked toward the girl.

"Whoops, my bad!" Gerry said, smacking his forehead. "Uh, Ronnie Bass, this is my cousin, Julie Bertier. Julie, this is Ronnie."

She offered her hand timidly, and Ronnie shook it, a handsome smile spreading across his face. "Nice to meet you."

"You, too," she replied with a smile.

It was obvious that she was related to Gerry. Her hair was the same shade as his, but it was curly, and her eyes were the same. When she smiled, Ronnie caught a glimpse of her braces. Ronnie smiled. "Not bad for a Bertier," he thought. In fact, he wasn't sure he didn't think she was pretty.

"She's in your grade, Sunshine," Gerry said. "I thought maybe you could help her find any classes y'all might have together. Maybe she has some classes with Petey and Alan, too."

"Okeydokey," Ronnie said, immediately kicking himself mentally. "What idiot," he thought, "says 'Okeydokey'?"

Gerry gave him a warning look and said, "Take care of my cousin, fruitcake."

"Get off his case, Gerry," Julie said, rolling her eyes. "Gah! That's some way to ask a guy for a favor!"

"OK. Just..."

"Gerry!" she said, a warning in her voice.

"OK. OK. Fine!" he answered. "See ya later."

"See ya!" she replied.

Ronnie offered his arm to Julie, and she took it. As they walked off, her soft voice said, "I thought your name was Ronnie."

"It is," he replied.

"So why do they call you Sunshine?"

"It's a nickname I picked up for being a blonde guy from California."

"Oh," she said. "Wow! What I wouldn't give to go to California."

"Maybe you can go someday," he replied.

"Well, I get the 'Sunshine' thing now, but where does my cousin get off calling you a fruitcake?"

"It's a long story. But the Reader's Digest version is that when the guys at camp saw my hair, it was longer than this. And they assumed that I was gay. Or a CaliFORNian. Or a fruitcake."

And Gerry still thinks you're...Well, you know..."

"Nah. Gerry earned the right to call me fruitcake. I sorta payed him back the first time he called me that. And the way I got him back, he can call me fruitcake 'til kingdom come."

Julie laughed. She rested her eyes on Ronnies face a moment, and was taken aback. She hadn't noticed his eyes before. They were beautiful, blue, and seemed to catch the spirit of whatever his face was doing. She was glad to have this "Sunshine" lighting up her day. "Yeah," she said, "I don't see Gerry sending me off to class on the arm of a 'fruitcake.'"

"Hey!" Ronnie said, "I could see him doing it. I mean, at least he wouldn't have to worry about him hitting on you."

Julie laughed. "Yeah. That's true." She wondered if he knew just how handsome he was.

"¿Qué es su primera clase de la mañana?" Ronnie asked with a grin, eager to see if she understood that he was asking her what her first class was.

She replied easily, "Es la clase de español."

"Wow! You speak Spanish!" Ronnie said. This girl was amazing! And her first class was Spanish, the same as his.

"Yep! she said. I like it better than English!"

"Me, too!" Ronnie replied. "Well, let's get to Spanish. It's my first class, too."

"Good," Julie replied.

The two of them walked into the classroom, and Julie said, "Wow! Y'all's Spanish classroom is way cooler than my old one."

"Yeah," Ronnie said, looking around the Latino themed classroom. "Señora McLamb is real big on getting us 'into it.'"

She walked around the room looking at different items that were spread throughout it. "Do y'all use Spanish names?"

"Yeah," Ronnie replied.

"What's yours?" she asked.

"Um..." he looked at his feet sheepishly, shy for the first time. "It's Ronaldo."

She giggled a little. "No big deal," she said with a wink. "It's better than 'fruitcake'!"

Ronnie smiled. "True...so what's yours?"

"Julia," she replied.

Ronnie sat down and settled in for an interesting day as students began to flood the room.

---------------------

OK, so there's my first chappie! Let me know watcha think! Is it aweful? Is it great? Is it just there? Let me know with a little r/r!


	2. Ronnie and Julie

DISCLAIMER: The people of RTT are not mine. (Not even Ryan Hurst.) *Weeps uncontrollably* He is REALLY cute! Powerhouse is an old candy bar, and I don't think they make it anymore, but it belongs to whatever company made it.  
  
MY NOTES: This is kind of an in-between chappie. It lacks music, but it's important to the story. Thanks for the reviews!  
  
~Chapter 2: Ronnie and Julie~  
  
Why couldn't Ronnie quit thinking about Julie? What was it about her? Was it her love of Spanish? Was it how her eyes were such a mysterious shade of blue crossed with blue? Ronnie wasn't quite sure, but Julie had already made herself a very special place in the heart of Ronnie Bass?  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Julie was braiding her thick hair, and wondering about Ronnie. Did he like her? She finally finished braiding her hair, then went to put her makeup on, softly saying, "Crap!" when she noticed a zit on her cheek.  
  
She didn't know why this had to happen at the worst times. Her face had been perfectly clear before she met Ronnie. And now she had an economy sized zit on her face. She and her younger sister ,Kasey, blamed it on an evil monster they called the "zit zombie" He always struck at the worst times.  
  
She covered it up as best she could, then grabbed her bookbag and headed outside to wait for Gerry. Kasey was taking the bus to the Junior High, so Julie waited alone. She saw her cousins green Camaro pull into the driveway. Gerry was in the driver's seat, and Julie smiled when she saw his girlfriend Emma Hoyt occupying the passenger's side. She climbed in the back seat on the driver's side, happily saying, "Hey, Emma!"  
  
"Hey, Julie!" Emma replied. Julie noticed Emma's forced smile and the peed off look on Gerry's face. She knew better than to ask about it at that time. She guessed she'd catch Gerry later and ask him what was up. She knew that Gerry loved Emma. And she knew that they almost never fought. And she further knew that nobody wanted to be on the receiving end when Gerry blew his stack.  
  
When they arrived at school, Julie got out of the car as quickly as possible. Then she ran as fast as she could up to the school, nearly bowling Ronnie over in the process.  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Ronnie!" she exclaimed, apologetically picking up his bookbag.  
  
"Oh, no problem," he replied. "But what the heck's wrong with you?"  
  
"Gerry and Emma had a fight..."  
  
"And Emma won, and you just found the body?" Ronnie said, jokingly.  
  
His smile melted away with her dirty look. "I'm serious, Ronnie."  
  
"I know. I know. Just trying to shed a little 'Sunshine' on your day."  
  
Julie snickered a little "OK, so... How have things been around here with Gerry and Emma? I mean, do they fight alot?"  
  
"Well, sorta. Emma doesn't like black people. And as close as Julius and Gerry are... Well, Emma doesn't like it."  
  
"Oh," she replied. "'Gerry-and-Julius.' That's like one word around here."  
  
"Yeah," Ronnie said. "It's pretty rare to hear one name without the other. Friendships like theirs are hard to come by."  
  
"Yeah. It used to be that way with Gerry-and-Emma. Or Gerry-and-Ray."  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, it was that way. Ray's kind of a jerk, but Emma seems nice. Just, I don't know. She was raised to believe that she's better than black people. I don't see why people raise their kids that way."  
  
"Me either. I mean, being raised that way is a cause, but it's not an excuse. Gerry was raised the same way. But he changed."  
  
"I know." Ronnie shook his blonde hair.  
  
"Man, he is fine..." she thought.  
  
Ronnie concentrated his clear gaze on Julie's face. She smiled, then covered her mouth. "Why couldn't that stupid orthodontist have taken these stupid things off BEFORE I came back here?"  
  
She didn't know that Ronnie was thinking how cute her braces looked on her. As they approached their Spanish classroom, Julie heard her cousin's voice, "Hey, Jules!"  
  
She turned around and said, "Hey, Gerr, what's up?"  
  
"Not much. How 'bout with you?"  
  
"Nada de particular," she replied, a grin spreading over her face. Gerry didn't know a word of Spanish. He rolled his eyes.  
  
"Well, fruitcake, what'd she say?"  
  
Ronnie smiled, "'Nothing in particular.'"  
  
"OK, Bass," he said, anger finding its way onto his face.  
  
Ronnie almost went hysterical. "She said, and I quote, 'Nothing in particular.'"  
  
Gerry rolled his eyes again. "Oh. OK. Anyway..." He looked down at Julie. "Why'd you leave so quick, kiddo?"  
  
"Gerry, I know you did NOT just call me 'kiddo,'" she said, a warnig in her voice.  
  
"Sorry. Why did you leave so quick, JJUULLIIEE?" Mock sweetness was dripping from his voice. Julie wanted to vomit.  
  
"Cut it out, Gerry Bertier!"  
  
"OK. OK. But quit avoiding the d...stupid question."  
  
Julie almost lauged. She knew that Gerry was most likely wishing she was a guy, so that he could have used a stronger word than stupid. Ronnie was apparently thinking the same thing, because he covered his mouth, his eyes beginning to water as he tried not to laugh.  
  
"OK, Gerr. I left because I didn't know if you and Emma were pre- or post-fight. And I didn't want to be there if you blew up."  
  
"Oh," Gerry said. He was annoyed at Emma. How could someone he loved so much be so prejudiced against his best friend?"  
  
Julie patted Gerry's forearm. "It's OK, Gerr. Everybody's gonna fight sometimes."  
  
"Yeah. I guess so. Well, I better get to class. Love ya, Jules."  
  
"Love ya, too, Gerr." She pecked her cousin on the cheek. She felt so sorry for him. She wanted to help him, but she didn't know how. She really liked Emma. But she didn't like the things that were going on. She watched the big teenager run toward the senior hall.  
  
She and Ronnie walked down the hall to their classroom. Ronnie opened the door, and said, "Ladies first."  
  
When she walked in, Ronnie followed, leanig over to whisper in her ear, "See, some of this Southern gentleman crap is rubbing off on my uncouth California butt."  
  
Julie nearly cracked up. She bit her lip, trying desperately not to laugh. Peeing off her first teacher of the day would not be starting the day off on the right foot. She shot Ronnie a dirty look, followed by a smile. Then Ronnie nearly lost it. He pinched his arm behind his back and somehow restrained his laughter.  
  
They sat in their desks, both trying not to laugh.  
  
As Señora McLamb began the class with a review of the Spanish pronunciation of the letter "c," Ronnie passed a note back to Julie. She nearly exploded with laughter as she read his words.  
  
Dear Julie,  
  
I was wondering, Could you Come to HomeComing with me. BeCause you are really Cute and SpeCial.  
  
The invitation will remain open, unless your Cousin kills me, in whiCh Case, you'll have to get a new date.  
  
Love,  
  
Ronnie Bass  
  
PS: Señora MCLamb is going a little Crazy with these C's, huh?  
  
Julie couldn't help thinking how corny Ronnie was. But she thought, "Why not?"  
  
She wrote back:  
  
Dear Ronnie,  
  
I would love to go to HomeComing with you. Even though your invitation was Cheesy, Corny, and maybe even Crazy. But you're so Cute that I Couldn't say no. And if you make me laugh, my Cousin won't get the ChanCe to kill you.  
  
Love,  
  
Julie MiChelle Bertier  
  
PS: Yes, Señora MCLamb is going Crazy with the C's. But then again, so are you, you lunatiC.  
  
Ronnie wanted to laugh so bad. He liked this Julie Michelle Bertier.  
  
She was surprised Ronnie thought she was cute. And that he wanted to take HER to Homecoming. She felt like she was going to burst with excitement. She'd never known anybody quite like Ronnie Bass. When she saw the teacher turn toward the chalkboard, she reached up to Ronnies neck and tugged on the back of his hemp choker. He almost lost it again. She hoped he wouldn't try to make her laugh again, but of course, he did. He passed back another note.  
  
"Hey, Babe, if Homecoming gets to boring, we'll head out to the 'Hill' and...well, you know...look at it and drive straight back."  
  
She knew that it wasn't really that funny, but for some strange reason, his wacky sense of humor was funny to her.  
  
She wrote back.  
  
"Wait just a minute, Mr. Bass. We're breaking a rule here. I'm not a cheerleader. Therefore, going to Homecoming with a quarterback is a major no-no."  
  
Ronnie wrote another goofy answer.  
  
"Major no-no? I thought it was just a Private First Class no-no."  
  
She rolled her eyes and wrote back,  
  
"Ronnie, you're such an idiot."  
  
His reply was, "I know."  
  
After class, Ronnie and Julie stood in the hall and laughed. "You are so goofy, Ronnie!" Julie said.  
  
"Yeah. That's what everybody says."  
  
Julie and Ronnie completed the school day, then went home.  
  
When Julie arrived at Gerry's car, she noticed that Emma wasn't with Gerry, so she knew that this particular fight ran deep. Julius was with him, though. She was glad when Julius suggested that she sit in the front seat. She climbed in beside her cousin. "How's it goin', Gerr?" she asked.  
  
"OK, I guess," he replied, his tone of voice making it obvious that he wasn't paying her any attention.   
  
She rolled her eyes, then decided to catch and hold his attention. "I got asked to Homecoming."  
  
It worked like a charm. Gerry turned quicky to face her. "Huh? By who?"  
  
She began to hum, pretending not to hear the question. "By who, Julie?" he repeated. He rested his eyes on her. "C'mon, now."  
  
She smiled, "Ronnie Bass."  
  
"Fruitcake asked you to Homecoming?"  
  
"Yeah," she said, lowering her voice for dramatic affect. "And if it gets too boring, we'll take a little trip to the 'Hill.'"  
  
"Oh, no you don't," Gerry said, Bertier anger flashing in his browny-blue eyes. "Jerk shouldn't have even asked you."  
  
Julie caught a glimpse of Julius trying not to laugh in the back seat. She put her hand on Gerry's arm and said, "Cool out, cousin. We'd just look at it and come straight back."  
  
Gerry didn't know what to do until Julie said, "Gerry, I'm kidding! Ah! Please say you did NOT think I was serious!"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"You had better know me better than that, Gerry Bertier!"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Gerry said, an apology in his eyes.  
  
"Sorry, Gerr. Didn't mean to pee you off THAT bad."  
  
"S'okay," he replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders.  
  
She smiled. "So do you still love your stupid cousin?"  
  
"Yeah, course I do."  
  
Julius broke the seriousness, saying, "I don't know about you, Superman, but I could go for a snack right about now."  
  
Julie smiled and said, "I want something, too. Let's go to Harrises' on the way to Julius's house."  
  
Gerry smiled, "Harrises' it is."  
  
The three of them went into the small store. Each got a Powerhouse candy bar. Gerry got a Coke, Julie got a Dr. Pepper, and Julius got a grape Nehi. "How do y'all drink that stuff?" Gerry asked. He loved Coke, and it was the only soda he would drink.  
  
Julie said, "Uh, maybe 'cause it's good?"  
  
Julius added, "Yeah. And 'cause we ain't mediocre and boring like you, Superman."  
  
Gerry laughed, "Ah, c'mon."  
  
Julie laughed, "Well, it's true, Gerr."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Ronnie Bass heard the phone ring. He ran down the hall to the kitchen to grab the phone. "Hello?"  
  
He nearly had a heart attack when he heard the voice on the other line. "Rachel?!" 


	3. What I Really Meant to Say Pt1

DISCLAIMER: The people of RTT are not mine. Not even Ryan Hurst! Sad, but true:-( Chevrolet owns Camaros and Pontiac owns Firebirds. I don't own the song, "What I Really Meant to Say." I don't know who owns it, but I know Cyndi Thompson sang it. And I know that it wasn't around in 1971, I just really think the song suits the chappie. So please, no flames telling me what an idiot I am for putting it in here. No money is being made from this, yadda yadda yadda, and so on and so forth... 

MY NOTES: Thanks for the reviews thus far! I'm gonna finish this story! I really am! Because, I, too, hate it when RTT fics just stop! It sucks! I just read my reviews and wanted to point out that Julie is Gerry's cousin. But I guess I did still sort of play off the protective facet of Gerry's personality. If anybody out there thinks that Gerry is as hot as I think he is, would you please let me know? The chicas in my family and friends circle don't think so. PLEASE let me know I'm not alone! D

Chapter 3: What I Really Meant to Say: Part One

"Hi, Ronnie," Rachel's voice said from the phone, happiness seeming to be in every tone of her voice.

"Oh, crap!" Ronnie exclaimed in surprise. "What's up?" He tried desperately to recover from his shock.

"Not much. I'm in town, so I thought I'd give you a ring."

"You were 'in town'?" Ronnie said, wondering how someone that lived on the other side of the country could be "in town."

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it when I get there, OK?"

"When you get here?" Now Ronnie was really excited.

"Yeah. I'm at the A&W. How do I get there from here?"

He gave her careful directions, and she said, "Bye, Ronnie. See ya in a few."

As soon as he hung up, he ran upstairs, yelling as he passed the living room, "Mom, Rachel's coming!"

"Rachel who?" she asked. But Ronnie didn't hear her. He was busily changing and combing his blonde hair. When he came back downstairs, she repeated her question.

"Rachel who, Ronald?"

Ronnie bit his tongue. He hated being called Ronald. Almost as much as he hated being called gay. Or a CaliFORNian. Or whatever. "Uh, Rachel Shannon."

"Rachel Shannon? What's she doing in Virginia?"

"I don't know," Ronnie said, his brow furrowed as he tried to figure it out. "I really don't know."

"Well, I'm glad she's here. She's a nice girl."

It was almost 20 minutes before Rachel knocked on the Bass's door.

Ronnie quickly opened it and saw a look of shock on Rachel's face. "Ronnie, your hair..." she gasped. "I love it! It looks so great! It suits you!"

Rachel didn't look a bit different. Her green eyes were just as beautiful as he remembered. And she was just as he remembered, dressed in a peasant blouse, bell bottoms, and a leather headband. But she was wearing shoes.

"This stupid Virginia fall puts the flip-flops in the closet, huh?" Ronnie said with a smile.

Rachel laughed. "Heck, yeah! It's colder than freakin' Alaska."

"Maybe not that cold, but..."

"Yeah, cold!"

Ronnie couldn't believe he was looking at Rachel. He never thought he'd see her again.

"Come in, Rache," he said, holding the door for her.

"Looks like some of this Southern gentleman crap is rubbing off on your California butt," she said.

Suddenly Ronnie thought of that morning. Wasn't that exactly what he'd said to Julie that morning? "Oh crap," he thought. "Julie."

"Uh, so, how long're you gonna be in town?" he asked.

"Until the government says we leave," she replied. "Isn't that awesome, Ronnie? We were transferred here!"

"Yeah!" he said, as she happily hugged him. He hoped he couldn't hear the lack of excitement in his voice.

Rachel's dad was in the military, like Colonel Bass. "Wow, Ronnie," he thought to himself, "what a pretty little mess you've gotten yourself into." He looked at Rachel. "Yep. A REAL pretty mess."

Rachel was so glad to see Ronnie. He just didn't know how happy she was to see him. And his hair looked a thousand times better.

Ronnie was so upset. He'd dated Rachel for almost a year. And he'd just met Julie. But he was taking Julie to Homecoming. And he couldn't just break it off because his girlfriend from California was there. But he didn't want to hurt Rachel, either. So what was he going to do?

Julie Bertier arrived at school the next day to see Ronnie talking to a gorgeous girl. Tall and beautiful, and she was acting WAY too friendly with Ronnie. Julie angrily walked toward them. Ronnie smiled when he saw her. "Hey, Julie, this is my friend Rachel Shannon from California. Rachel, this is my new friend Julie Bertier. She's Gerry's cousin."

Both Rachel and Julie gave Ronnie dirty looks. Neither of them had missed the word, "friend."

Julie shook Rachel's hand, and didn't miss the challenge in Rachel's green eyes. She returned the look, then smiled at Ronnie, who was looking terribly uncomfortable. She cut her eyes at Rachel in a sort of dare, then took Ronnie's right arm. Rachel smiled wickedly, and took his left arm.

"Rachel's gonna be in our first hour Spanish class, Jules," Ronnie said, trying in vain to hide his nervousness.

"Wow, isn't that lovely?" she said, a threat running deep in her voice.

Rachel stood on her toes and whispered in Ronnie's ear, "We date over a year and you introduce me as your friend?"

Julie stretched to whisper in his other ear. "Friends, huh? I'm not sure friends go to Homecoming together."

Ronnie looked at her, shock registering on his face.

She added, "I'll go with you this time, ya fruitcake."

Yep! She'd called him a fruitcake. Gah! Had he ever screwed up!

When they got to class, Ronnie sat at his desk, Julie behind him, and Rachel in front.

He wanted to talk to Petey. But, then again, when had Petey's advice on girls ever been any good? He was Petey, for heaven's sake. He'd never had the same girlfriend for more than 2 or 3 weeks. His advice would be, "Get a girl. Any girl, and get over it." Yeah, as much as they were friends and stuff, Ronnie had to admit that Petey was a player.

Ronnie didn't know what to do.

The next morning at school, Rachel avoided Ronnie all day. She was obviously peed off, and Ronnie couldn't tread softly enough around her.

At the end of the day, Ronnie heard the rumor. Ray Budds had asked Rachel Shannon to Homecoming and she had accepted. Ronnie couldn't believe it. Anybody would have loved to go with Rachel, but she had picked Ray!

Ronnie hunted Rachel in the halls,eventually finding her in the Senior hall at Ray's locker. He wanted to vomit when he saw Rachel hanging on Ray's arm giggling like a ditzy Junior High girl. Which Ronnie knew she wasn't.

(Little note from me, I have nothing against Jr. Hi girls, it's just a similie...Or is it a metaphor?)

"Uh, Rache, can I talk to you a minute?" he asked.

She gave Ronnie a "Kiss my butt" look, but said, "Sure, Ronnie..." in a sugar-sweet tone.

Ray looked at Rachel, and she said," It's OK, Babe. I won't let him pull any moves on me."

"He's a fruitcake, ain't he?" Ray replied. "I'm not worried about it." But he still gave Ronnie a warning look.

Ronnie bit back the urge to light into Ray. Where did that jerk come off calling him a fruitcake? But it was neither the time nor the place for a fight. So he led Rachel to a secluded corner. She said, "OK, Ronnie. What do you want?"

"You can't go out with Ray Budds," he said, worry in his voice.

"I can go out with whoever I darn well please!" she retorted, anger flashing like lightning in those infuriatingly beautiful green eyes. "But since you're already tossing orders around, would you mind telling me why?"

"Because Ray's a racist jerk, maybe?" Ronnie began, "Or because no girl's ever been out with him without getting hurt? Or because he'll just sweet talk you until he gets what he wants, then leave you holding the bag?"

"Shut up, Ronnie. You're just jealous. Because you asked Julie to Homecoming. And now Ray's got what you wish you still had!" She hated herself for accepting Ray's offer, and it hadn't taken her long to find out what a jerk Ray really was. But she couldn't let Ronnie know. She held back tears and said, "Leave me alone, Ronnie. You're not my dad!"

"But I..."

"Go AWAY!" she yelled, running back to Ray.

"What's wrong, Baby," Ray asked, putting his arms around her, and sliding her fingers into his belt loops.

"Oh nothin'. Nothing at all. That Bass is just a real jerk," she whispered to him.

"Yeah. Sometimes I think things would have been better if he'd left his hippie behind in California."

"Hey, now. The hippie thing's not so bad." She rested her eyes on Ray's. She couldn't help thinking that he was handsome. Those blue eyes of his were just... well, she didn't know, but they were really nice eyes. If it weren't for the hateful look he always wore.

She wished Ray would look at her the way Ronnie used to. Ronnie's eyes had always been full of love. But in Ray's, she saw nothing but lust. And there was plenty of that.

"Some love, huh?" she thought. "After we dated that long he asks her to Homecoming."

Ray was getting a little bold, and Rachel said, "Ah, Ray, I better go. My dad might worry."

"OK, he said, pulling her even closer. "You need a ride?"

"Uh..." she said, trying to remain cool and collected. "Uh, no, I'll walk."

Ray said, "It's a long walk. And it's pretty chilly."

"True," she replied.

"Well, where's your coat?"

She shrugged, "I left it at home."

"What? How'd you get here with no freakin' coat?"

"I had a ride."

"With who?"

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter any more."

"Whatever," he replied. "So are you gonna walk home with no coat, or ride? With me?"

"Uh, OK. I'll ride with you," she said, immediately regretting her decision. But she wasn't gonna go and ask Ronnie for a ride home. Never in a million years.

So she rode home in Ray's Firebird. And prayed that the jerk wouldn't touch her again

----------------

Let me know whatcha think!


	4. What I Really Meant to Say Pt2

DISCLAIMER: The people of RTT are not mine. Not even Ryan Hurst! Or Kip Pardue. Sad, but true! I'm glad Kip's not gay, but I don't know why he's dating Jennifer Love Hewitt. :-( Of course he could be dating J. Lo. Which is like automatic suicide for your heart. Poor Ben. Oops This is supposed to be a disclaimer, not a who's dating who... So Chevrolet owns Camaros and Pontiac owns Firebirds. Ford owns F-150's. I don't own the song, "What I Really Meant to Say." I don't know who owns it, but I know Cyndi Thompson sang it. And I know that it wasn't around in 1971, I just really think the song suits the chappie. So please, no flames telling me what an idiot I am for putting it in here. John Fogherty owns "Lodi." It's a great song! "Surfer Girl" is a Beach Boys song, so it was most likely written by Brian Wilson. But his dad sold his songs, so I don't know who owns it now. Anyway, the point is, I don't own it. No money is being made from this, yadda yadda yadda, and so on and so forth... 

MY NOTES: Thanks for the reviews thus far! I'm gonna finish this story! I really am! Because, I, too, hate it when RTT fics just stop! It sucks:-( But any way... Here goes nothing! Remember this all important phrase: "Reviews are everything!"

But please, no flames. If you HATE it, tell me you hate it, but don't say I suck or something just say my writing skills suck! Constructive criticism is always welcome, just not useless flames! To all the reviewers thus far, y'all ROCK!

Chapter 4: What I Really Meant to Say: Part Two

(Homecoming Night)

Ronnie Bass adjusted his tie and headed out the door. "See ya, mom!" he called.

"'Bye, Ronnie!" she called back.

He walked outside, grateful that his dad was letting him borrow his red Camaro. Ronnie really didn't want to drive his old beat up F-150 to Homecoming. Of course, come to think of it, he didn't really like driving his F-150 to school...

When he pulled into Julie's driveway, he hesitated just a second. Then he grabbed her corsage and went to the door, and knocked.

The door was answered by Julie's dad, who said, "Hey, Ronnie."

Ronnie smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. Bertier." He offered his hand and the older man shook it firmly. "Is Julie ready?"

"Almost," Mr. Bertier replied. "She looks absolutely beautiful."

"I'm sure she is, sir," Ronnie replied.

Less than five minutes later, Julie walked downstairs. She looked beautiful all right. Her blue evening gown fit neatly and flared at the bottom. The color brought out the blue in her eyes. Ronnie stood up and walked over to her, nervously pinning her corsage on.

"It's so pretty, Ronnie," she said a pretty smile on her face.

Ronnie smiled, "Umm...I was going to say,'not as pretty as you,' but that's kinda cliché."

Julie laughed lightly. They walked out to the Camaro together, and Ronnie opened her door for her. They drove off together.

Rachel was putting on a pair of dangly black earrings. She wanted to have a good time. She wanted Ronnie to see her having a good time. With Ray. She wanted alot of things, but from the looks of things, she wouldn't be getting them.

She heard Ray's Firebird in the driveway, so she hurried down the stairs. She put on her best smile for Ray as he came over to pin her corsage on.

He couldn't believe how good she looked. Her dress was red with a high collar, but it left her back and arms bare. When she caught a glimpse of the look in Ray's eyes, she wished she'd covered up more. She was glad for the silk shawl that she'd purchased to go along with her dress. She thought Ray let his hands linger a little too long when he was pinning her corsage, but she put on a smile again and followed him out the door. They got into his car, and he cranked it. Rachel smiled as she heard her one of her favorite songs, "Just My Imagination," floating off the airwaves. She could've smacked Ray when he changed the station, muttering under his breath about "that stupid 'colored' music." But she had to admit that Ray's music wasn't bad. His station was playing "Lodi" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Ray said, "so, uh...Tell me more about yourself, Rache."

Rachel cringed. Only Ronnie called her Rache. "Well, uh, I'm 16. I'm a junior, and up until just a little while ago, I was going to Huntington Beach High School. I just moved from California, which suck in the middle of a school year. I know Ronnie from California, but I wish I didn't."

Ray laughed at the last comment, which made Rachel mad, despite the fact that she had said it. "Oh. So, do you like football?"

"Yeah! I used to play some. I'm not very good at it though."

Ray put his arm around her. "I could teach you if you wanted to learn."

"Uh, yeah. That'd be nice of you," she said. In all reality, she knew she'd never play football with Ray. She had a disturbingly graphic picture in her mind. Ray would tackle her, and refuse to get up. Trouble would ensue.

She didn't like the idea at all. So she changed the subject.

That evening was miserable for both Ronnie and Rachel. Ray wasn't exactly a gentleman, and his hands were irritating to Rachel. And Ronnie didn't miss it.

Just when Rachel was ready to amputate Ray's hands forcefully, he said, "I'm gonna go get some punch. You want some?"

"Nah," she replied. "Punch is kinda gross."

Ray shrugged then went off to get some punch. Afterward, he told Rachel that she could rest a little while. So she sat down in a chair to rest her feet. She cursed her heels, which were killing her feet.

"Poor kid," she thought when she saw Ray dancing with Julie.

She smiled when she saw Ronnie standing in front of her, his hand extended toward her. "You wanna dance?" he asked.

"Sure, Ronnie," she replied, planning to make him think she was having the time of her life.

He led her onto the floor to the opening notes of "Surfer Girl." Rachel felt all of her walls and defenses crumbling when Ronnie took her in his arms, so gently and lovingly. She put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. The difference in Ronnie's arms and Ray's was unmistakeable. When Ronnie held her, she felt safe, and didn't want him to let go. But when Ray did, she couldn't wait to escape.

Just as she began to relax, Rachel looked at Ronnie, and he asked, "How are things going with Ray?" Instantly, her defenses flew back into place.

"Fine," she replied, biting back the urge to say, "How the heck do you think, Bass?"

Ronnie looked sad. "Oh, that's good."

"Why do you ask?"

"Uh... Because I care about you. And I don't want him to hurt you."

"I'm not a little girl, Ronnie!" she snapped.

"I know... I just..."

"Shut up!" She cut him off and pulled away from the safety of his arms. She returned to Ray's side, trying not to cry. "Hey, baby," she said to Ray, "Let's ditch this place."

"Where do you want to go?"

"'The Hill' OK with you."

He raised one eyebrow wickedly. "Yeah!" He thought to himself, "Gah! I'm good. 'The Hill' on the first date."

They went out to the car and drove off.

Ronnie danced with Julie the rest of the night, which, luckily, wasn't much longer. He took her home. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he needed to think. He decided to go to 'the Hill.' It was a perfect thinking spot. Especially when it was deserted. Which it would be on Homecoming night. Or so he thought.

When he pulled in, his heart skipped a beat. Wasn't that Ray's car?

Rachel was making out with Ray. Which, thus far, had not been any fun. As she felt Ray's fingers trying to unbutton the buttons on her collar, she snapped, "Whoa, Ray? Where the heck do you think you're going."

Ray didn't answer, he just kept fumbling with the buttons. He was going way outside his boundaries, and it was too much for Rachel. She broke, and slapped him as hard as she could. He screamed an unrepeatable exclamation. His angry first response was to return the blow. Rachel screamed something unflattering about Ray's ancestry. Her eye stung where he'd struck her.

Before she had time to think, Ronnie was pulling her out of the car, and then he was on top of Ray, throwing punches left and right. He stood up after he'd beaten Ray, and said, "You better get out of here, Budds. Before I change my mind."

Rachel stood up from where Ronnie had laid her, and watched Ray drive away, screeching his tires as he went.

Ronnie took Rachel in his arms. "Are you OK?"

She nodded, but couldn't hold back the tears. "Ronnie, he almost..."

"I know," he said, letting her cry on his chest. "Let's get you home, Rache."

"No! Ronnie, no. I can't go home."

"Why?" he asked, stroking her hair, which had fallen from the updo she'd had it in.

"Look, Ronnie, you have to swear you won't say anything."

"About what?"

"Swear, Ronnie."

"Yeah. I guess so..." he replied, still holding her close, as if he were afraid to let her go.

"My dad will beat me up. He'll blame me for putting myself in a compromising situation with Ray."

"No," Ronnie gasped, looking down at her tear-stained face. "No. What happened was NOT your fault."

"Well, try telling that to my dad. But... Well he is going on a two-week trip tomorrow morning. So, maybe... Do you think your parents will mind if I spend the night with JoAnna? The he won't see me for two weeks. Maybe my eye will be OK by then."

"Yeah. That should be cool with them. But we need to get you somewhere where we can look at your eye."

She let him lead her to his car, then drive her to his house. His parents weren't there, so he unlocked the door and helped her to the couch. He brought her an icepack for her eye, which was rapidly swelling up. She called her dad and told him that she was spending the night with JoAnna, Ronnie's younger sister.

Ronnie kept a close watch on her eye. It was going to leave a bad bruise. He wanted to kill Ray Budds.

Ronnie went into the livingroom and sat with Rachel.

"Rache, you've got to get away from your old man. He's going to really hurt you someday. It's only a matter of time."

"Pour on the encouragement, Bass," she said angrily.

"I'm sorry. But I can't let you go home. Not to him."

"Ronnie, it's OK..." she began.

"No!" he said angrily. "Your dad has no right to hit you. Ever. For any reason."

"Ronnie..." she broke down and cried. She couldn't hold it back anymore. Ronnie laid beside her and put his arms around her.

"It's OK. Shhh..." he said.

She sniffled a little, then said, "Ronnie, I don't think I'd wanna be you if your parents walked in right now."

Ronnie laughed. "Ah, what the heck. It could be worse."

"True," she replied, letting her cheek rest on Ronnie's chest. She knew that it was a little clichéd, but she never felt safer than she did in Ronnie's arms. She knew that she didn't have to be afraid of Ray. Or her dad.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice. She started crying because it had scared her so badly. But she felt stupid when she saw Colonel Bass standing over them. "Ronald, what's going on here?"

Rachel quickly jumped to Ronnie's defense. "Colonel, I had an accident tonight. Ronnie was just being my knight in shining armor."

"Accident? What happened?"

"Ray Budds, Dad," Ronnie said.

"That boy is no good," Colonel Bass said. "But what are you doing here, Miss Shannon?"

"Um...my dad's leaving early, so I'm staying with JoAnna. If it's OK with you."

"That's fine. But why are you two lying on the sofa together?"

"I just needed a crying shoulder," Rachel said. "And Ronnie here fit the bill perfectly."

"Well, would you please get up, Ronald."

"Sure, Dad," he replied, grudgingly releasing Rachel and standing up.

"I think JoAnna's going to be here in a few minutes," Mrs. Bass said.

"I'll deal with you later, Ronald," Colonel Bass said, a warning in his voice.

"Yes, sir," Ronnie replied in a subdued tone.

Ronnie had just realized how badly he was hurt. Ray had done a heck of a job. Ronnie's chin was bruised, and he had some dried blood on his upper lip where his nose had been bleeding. His ribs and back hurt from hitting the ground and... And he was hungry. Ronnie laughed. "A time like this and all I can think about is food." He stopped laughing pretty quickly, because it hurt his ribs.

He scooped himself a bowl of butter pecan ice cream, then asked if anybody else wanted some. Rachle did, so he scooped her a bowl and took it to her. She thanked him and tasted the ice cream. It was so cool and smooth and it just soothed their nerves.

Ronnie wanted to talk to Rachel, but his parents were keeping a pretty close eye on them now. And when she finished her ice cream, she laid the bowl aside and dozed off. She slept on the couch, so Ronnie guessed he'd have to wait until morning. Or later in the morning. He looked at his watch, and it was 2 AM.

The next morning, Ronnie fixed breakfast. He loved to cook. He made regular pancakes for his parents, blueberry for JoAnna and chocolate chip for himself and Rachel.

"Uh, Rache," he began as she ate. "I'd like for us to get back together."

"What about Julie?" she asked cooly.

"We weren't really dating. We just... We didn't have alot in common. So we decided not to persue anything."

"Oh. So you think we can just get back together? You think we can just pick back up like that?"

"No. Yes. I mean..."

"What is it, Ronnie? Do you really want to go out with me, or are you just feeling sorry for me?"

"I want to get back together with you. I've missed you. I... I love you."

"Love me? Oh, really? Then why was it so easy for you to ask Julie out?"

"I didn't want to go to Homecoming alone. And if you'd been here, I never would've asked."

"Oh, Ronnie..."

Ronnie's eyes pleaded with her. "I love you, Rachel. I always have."

"Yeah," she replied, tears filling her eyes as she recalled how he'd held her so lovingly and gently. He had fought Ray for her. And she saw the battle scars from that battle. And they made her care for him even more. "I love you, too, Ronnie."

Ronnie smiled. He knew that he and Rachel had a long hard road ahead. But they loved each other. And for the moment, that was enough.

--------------------

Well, now comes the hard part. I have to figure out how to deal with Ray and Rachel's dad...


	5. Man to Man Pt1

DIDSCLAIMER: As usual, RTT is not mine. It never was mine, and it never will be mine. Second of all, I forgot to say that "Just My Imagination" ain't mine either. Everybody knows Ryan Hurst isn't mine. And everybody knows, I wish he was. I love that guy. And he is SO HOT! "Man to Man" is not mine either, but it is SUCH a cool song. It, like "What I Really Meant to Say," did not exist in 1971. My dad's band does it and...WOW! It probably belongs to Gary Allan. Who is a cool dude. My dad met him! And I didn't. AHHH! It sucks when your padre gets lucky and you don't! I also do not own the term, "full offensive bench warmer." I got it from the recent remake of the movie "Brian's Song." I thought it was cute, so I put it in here. The thing about Ronnie not being able to smile because of a split lip was taken from an injury a friend of mine received in the middle of a "Worm War" with his twin brother. The phrase "slap your ugly mug" belongs to my aunt. But then again, you really didn't need to know that, did you? I know that the real Lew Lastick wasn't a military kid, but this is based more on the movie. 

MY NOTES: Hope y'all will give the story "Then You Came Along" a little r/r. Sona's talking about dropping it, so give her a little incentive! And I'm not exactly sure if you would call Ray a rapist. I think he just doesn't pay attention when a chica says, "NO!" And I don't think he was that good looking either, but I guess somebody does. (Probably the same people who don't think Ryan Hurst is HOT!) And besides, Rachel would have done pretty much anything to get back at Ronnie. Even though it wasn't Ronnie's fault... And Grace, not if I have Ryan's children first. :-) I'm not exactly sure what to do about Julie. I don't want to just drop her. I might write an alternate ending, or I might hook her up with somebody else. (Any suggestions would be appreciated.) Jamaican Sunshine and Shannon, y'all have been my most faithful reviewers thus far, so muchos gracias to you two! And here goes chapter 5...

Chapter 5: Man to Man: Part 1

Monday morning, Ronnie walked into school, and Petey Jones made record time getting over to his friend. "Hey, Sunshine!" Petey called, "We better talk, man."

Ronnie looked very confused. "Man, Ray's spreading a bunch of crap about you and Rachel," Petey said.

"What kind of crap, Petey?"

"He says that she was...uh... about to go all the way with him. And he says you couldn't take it, so you pulled her out of the car and beat him up."

Ronnie rolled his eyes and muttered a few words that not even Petey had heard him say before. He would've already been running toward the senior hall if not for Petey's hand on his shoulder. "I wish Gerry could've kicked him out of the school and not just off the team," he said.

"No kidding, man..." Petey replied. "Don't pull some dangerous crap, though, Sunshine. He ain't worth it."

"No. But Rachel is."

"I don't know... Sunshine, just let somebody know before you do anything. Me. Or Bertier. Or Julius. Or all of us."

"Petey, I'll take care of myself," Ronnie said, anger flashing in his blue eyes.

Petey grabbed Ronnie's arm. "Listen to me, man." Ronnie looked at his friend, who then continued. "You probably could take Ray on your own, man. But the guy's got friends. Why, I don't know. But he does have friends. And you can't fight five or six guys on your own. Well, you could, but you couldn't win."

"I feel like I could right now."

"Well, Sunshine, love's like being drunk, or high or something. You feel like you can do alot of things you can't do."

Ronnie laughed in spite of himself, "Nice line, Petey. I'll have to use that with Rachel sometime. But anyway... I'll do what I've gotta do, Petey. that's all there is to it. If I think I'll need backup, I'll get Bertier, or Julius, or you. But preferably Bertier. 'Cause I don't want this to become a big race battle, too. This is about Ray and me and Rachel. Not black and white."

"Don't get yourself hurt, Sunshine. Promise me you won't act like a fool."

"I can't promise anything, Petey. See you after class."

The tall quarterback headed to class.

He sat in his desk with Julie behind him and Rachel in front. "Hey, Sunshine," Julie said softly from behind him.

"Hi, Jules. What's up?"

"Not much."

"Is...uh... is Gerry peed at me?" he asked.

"What for?" she asked.

"Because we broke up," Ronnie replied. The last thing he needed was for Bertier to be mad at him.

"Ronnie, to break up, you have to be dating. And we went to Homecoming together, which is one date, whice doesn't qualify for a actual dating relationship. And besides, Gerry knows you. He knows you're not a jerk. You wouldn't just dump somebody to be mean."

"But, I didn't dump you, Jules."

"I know. We didn't go out anymore because we're not right for each other. I know that, I was just say..." The teacher's voice cut her off.

Señora McLamb began by reviewing the Spanish pronunciation of the letter r, and Ronnie was busily scribbling a note to Rachel in his large, messy script.

Hey Rache,

Ray's spreading a bunch of BS about us. Don't worry though. I'll deal with him later.

Ronnie

Rachel had had it with Ray. But she didn't want Ronnie to get hurt for her. Again. She wished Ray would get kicked out of TC. And if he'd leave Alexandria, that'd be the icing on the cake.

Rachel was upset when lunch hour rolled around. Unfortunately, their class and Ray's ate together. And Rachel didn't trust Ronnie not to start something.

Ronnie walked into the cafeteria with Rachel. Gerry and Julie waved them over to their table. Ronnie slid in in front of Gerry, and Rachel was across from Julie. Petey came over and sat on Ronnie's other side. Julie and Rachel were the only girls at the Titans' table. Julius was at Gerry's side, and Emma, who had apparently had another spat with Gerry was sitting at the table where Ray and his friends and their girlfriends usually sat. Ronnie knew Gerry was mad, but he was just glad that the anger wasn't directed at him.

Jerry "Rev" Harris was on Julie's other side. Lewie Lastik was beside Rev. Derrick Martin was on Lewie's other side, then Blue Stanton.

On Ronnie's side of the table, Alan Bosley was beside Rachel, then Jerry Buck, followed by Kurt Greene, then Frankie Glascoe.

Gerry, as usual, passed his milk to Julius. Ronnie snickered. He leaned over to Rachel and said, "I think Gerry here is proof that you can grow up to be a big strong boy without drinking your milk."

Rachel laughed. Gerry looked across the table. "God, Rachel! What happened to you?"

Rev sent Gerry a dirty look down the table, and Gerry said, "Sorry, Rev. What I meant was, 'Gee golly gosh, what happened to you?'" The team laughed at Gerry's silly "Leave it to Beaver" style voice. Even Rev couldn't help laughing. He knew that Gerry was just joking.

"What?" Rachel asked. "Oh, my eye."

"Yeah. It looks painful."

"Yeah. It's pretty sore. But you should've seen the other guy."

Gerry gave her a classic Bertier cock-sided smile. "Yeah. But really, what happened?"

"Oh, come on Gerry. Don't tell me you haven't heard the rumors."

Gerry shook his head. "I don't listen to rumors. Never have."

"I'll tell you about it later."

Blue laughed. "Looks like whatever happened to Rachel happened to Sunshine, too."

Ronnie smiled, but it really hurt his split upper lip. It was healing, but it still really hurt when he smiled, or opened his mouth to bite something like a hot dog. It had split itself open again several times. "Yeah, pretty much," Ronnie replied. "Only I didn't get kissed before I got hurt."

"I think you've had enough kisses for one lifetime, fruitcake," Gerry said with a grin.

Ronnie laughed. "Yeah. Try telling that to my mom."

"Well, at least he's not a CaliFORNian," Petey said, in his normal obnoxious fashion.

"I'm a Californian, just not a CaliFORNian..." Ronnie said.

About that time, Ray walked into the cafeteria. Ronnie stood up and tossed his napkin on the table beside his tray, saying, "If you'll excuse me, I've got some business to attend to."

Petey saw Ronnie's angry gaze resting on Ray, and grabbed the tall blonde boy's arm. "Well, we won't excuse you, Sunshine."

"Don't mess with me, Petey. I'm not in the mood for any bull."

Gerry looked across the table. He had never seen that look on Ronnie's face before, but he was smart enough to know what it meant. "Let me know if you need a hand, Sunshine," the big teenager said.

"Yeah, OK," Ronnie replied absently. His mind was already across the room fighting with Ray.

He walked over to Ray and his friends.

Ray turned around to face Ronnie. "What do you want, hippie boy?"

"I want you to quit spreading this bull about Rachel. She slapped your ugly mug for tryin' stuff with her," Ronnie said, loud enough for Ray's friends to hear.

"Shut up, fruitcake. You don't know what you're talking about. Some of that dope you're smokin' must be getting to your brain. You just couldn't stand the thoughts of her being with me."

"No, Budds. Don't tell the story 'til you get it straight. You took her to the 'Hill' and tried to pull some crap. She didn't like it. So I had to kick your butt on her behalf. And your arrogant pride won't admit that there might be some girls in this world who aren't just waiting to go all the way with your sorry behind."

"Get over it, Bass. I got better things to do."

Ronnie knew how to push Ray's buttons. And how to turn people against him.

"And I further know," he said, cooly, "that you are the one who put that shiner on Rachel's eye."

Gasps and whispers began circulating through the room. Rachel's face began to burn as she felt the eyes in the room turning to her. She wished she could melt away. Into thin air.

"Why don't you tell the true story, Ray?" Ronnie asked, pulling himself up to his full height. Which was considerably taller than Ray.

"I'm not scared of some little hippie fruitcake from California," Ray retorted.

"Don't make me tell the whole story, Ray," Ronnie said. "Because I talked to a few girls that you might know. And they gave me some information that you might not want the world to know. At least not if you want to hold on to any shreds of a reputation you MIGHT have left."

Ray ran in Ronnie's direction and drew back his arm to hit him. "You better keep your mouth shut!"

Gerry looked around and noticed that there were only three teachers in the cafeteria. The others had gone to the teacher's lounge. He rolled his eyes wondering where Coach Boone was when you needed him. He wondered if the two male teachers in the cafeteria wanted to see the "hippie" get his butt kicked by Ray. He stood up, and went to stand behind Ronnie.

Ronnie looked at Ray defiantly and said, "I dare you, Budds. Go ahead. Hit me."

One of the teachers, a small young woman, came over to them. "Boys, there will be no fighting in the building or on the grounds of this school. If you must fight, take it off school property."

Ronnie and Ray didn't take their eyes off of each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Gerry, however, turned to look at the teacher. He admired the small woman's courage. She was obviously afraid, even her hands were shaking. But at least she'd done something. Which was more than he could say for the other teachers in the room.

"Mr. Bass, Mr. Budds, please return to your tables. Mr. Bertier, if you were planning on getting involved, there will be nothing for you to get involved in. Please return to your table."

"Yes, ma'am," Gerry replied, grabbing Ronnie's arm. "Come on, Sunshine."

"Gerry..." Ronnie began.

"Sunshine, come on," Gerry repeated, trying to keep his friend calm.

Ronnie turned around and followed Gerry back to the table.

They sat down and tried to eat, but Ronnie couldn't. First of all, the food was bad, but more importantly, because his stomach was in knots.

He looked up at Gerry. "Thanks, man."

"No problem, Sunshine. We're Titans. That's just the way it is."

"Ronnie," Rachel said, "don't worry about it. It's not worth fighting about."

"Yeah, it is. I'll deal with Ray later."

"Ronnie, don't..."

"We'll talk about it later, Rache," he said.

"OK." She wished Ronnie wouldn't try to be a hero.

He decided to change the subject. "Have you met the guys yet, Rache?"

"No. I've met a few of them, but..." she shrugged, "not many."

"Well, uh..." Ronnie began, "I'll just start with Julius and go around the table." He pointed at Big Julius. "That Julius Campbell. He's one multi-talented guy. He can play tight end, split end, or strong side linebacker."

Rachel laughed and put on her fake, ditzy voice. "Oh, my gosh! There's a football position called split end? I thought that was just something bad that happened to people's hair."

Everybody laughed at what Rachel considered a corny joke.

"Then, you know Gerry and Julie Bertier," Ronnie continued. "That's Jerry Harris, but we call him Rev. And if he hadn't gotten a broken wrist, I'd still be playing 'full offensive bench warmer.'"

"Hi, Rachel," Rev said with a smile.

Then Ronnie pointed to a stocky white boy, and said, "That's Lew Lastik. He's a military brat like us. He came from Bayonne. Offensive lineman and momma joker extrordinaire."

Lewie laughed.

Ronnie indicated a black boy, and said, "That's Derrick Martin, backup fullback. And he, Blue, and Lewie are a dangerous combination of soul power and momma jokes."

Derrick nodded in agreement with Ronnie. "Right on, Sunshine."

"And that is Blue Stanton. His real name's Darryl, but nobody calls him that."

"And when he says nobody, he means NOBODY!" Blue said.

"That's Frankie Glascoe across from Blue. He's a tailback, but he can play both ways. Then next to him is Kurt Greene, nose tackle. Then there's Jerry Buck, and he plays guard. Then Alan Bosley, who you know from history class. Then here's Petey. Who you already know."

"Hey, sweetie-pie," Petey said, a goofy grin on his goofy face.

"Come on, Petey," Derrick said from across the table. "Can't you ever meet just one girl without hittin' on her?"

Gerry laughed, "Yeah, man!"

Petey grinned, "Never have been able to. Guess I'm just cursed with good looks and charm."

Blue smiled, "Well, at least we know he didn't get it from his momma," he said, turning to Petey. Derrick nodded his assent.

"That ain't funny, y'all!" Petey said.

Julus looked down the table at Blue. "Yeah, man. I heard Petey's momma's armpits were so hairy and stinky, she got an A+ in school for NOT raisin' her hand."

Petey was getting peed off. Ronnie sprung to his friend's defense. "Well, the only reason her armpits were hairy was because she had to share the razor with Julius's momma and Blue's momma. And between Julius's momma's back hair, and Blue's momma's arm hair, the razor was so stopped up that Petey's momma couldn't use it."

Blue laughed. "Well, man, at least my momma HAS hair. Sunshine's momma had to borrow some of his."

Ronnie couldn't help laughing even though the joke was directed at his momma.

"Hey, everybody, quit picking on Sunshine's momma. I like her," Lewie said. "She makes me look so slim and fine."

"Hey," Ronnie said. "At least my momma didn't go to the prom with her cousin."

"Yeah," Lewie said. "Her own COUSIN wouldn't even be caught dead at the prom with her."

By this time, most of the people at the table were red-faced and out of breath from laughter. Gerry leaned over to Julie and whispered, "I'm just glad they left MY momma alone this time."

Blue laughed. "Well, I guess Lastick here has proven himself momma joke king once again."

Ronnie laughed. Rachel looked up at him, tears rolling down her face from laughter. "Well, you are a lively bunch of guys."

Gerry smiled. "This ain't nothin'. You haven't seen us in the locker room getting warmed up for games. It can get out of hand sometimes." He shot a meaningful look Ronnie's way. "'Course, sometimes we ain't even gettin' ready for a game. Sometimes all it takes for us to get out of hand is somebody callin' somebody a fruitcake."

Ronnie laughed. "You're never gonna let that die, are you Bertier?"

"Never in a million years," the tall linebacker replied.

"Why would he let it die?" Petey asked. "That one deserves to haunt you to the grave!"

Ronnie shook his head. The bell rang, telling them that lunch was over. The team cleared their table, and headed out. "On to the evil man..." said Petey, who was going to Coach Boone's history class.

Ronnie shook his head. Boone was just as tough in history class as he was on the field. Except for the fact that he didn't make the students run laps. But Ronnie guessed that it wasn't because they didn't want to. It was most likely because there was nowhere to run.

As he Ronnie headed for the exit, he felt Gerry give him a friendly slap on the back. "Be careful, man."

"I'll try."

As the team left the cafeteria, Ray walked just close enough to Ronnie to say in a harsh voice, "I'll deal with you later, Bass."

Ronnie turned to look at the shorter teen. "Look forward to it, Ray."

Then he turned away from Ray and just kept walking.


	6. Man to Man Pt2

DISCLAIMER: As usual, RTT is not mine. It never was mine, and it never will be mine. Ryan Hurst isn't mine, even though I wish he was. I love that guy. "Man to Man" is not mine. I know that it did not exist in 1971. It probably belongs to Gary Allan. 

MY NOTES: Thanks to all my reviewers! Y'all rock! And as I was reading over chapter 5 after I posted, I realized that Julius passed Gerry his milk in the movie, not the other way. So please forgive me, but it's stuck that way now. FOREVER. lol. Hey, please give The Dated and the Dumped a look! It's by Jamaican Sunshine, and she's my bud! And she doesn't have many reviews right now! So give her a little r/r please! Forgive me, too, for the possibility that near the end, this chappie gets a little "Lion King-ish." It wasn't intended that way, but after I wrote it, I could almost hear Ronnie saying, "Run away, Ray. Run away, and never return." Oh, well... What's done is done...

Chapter 6: Man to Man: Part 2

As the team left the cafeteria, Ray walked just close enough to Ronnie to say in a harsh voice, "I'll deal with you later, Bass."

Ronnie turned to look at the shorter teen. "Look forward to it, Ray."

Then he turned away from Ray and just kept walking.

Ronnie leaned over to say softly to Rachel, "I could really go for a few hours of tai chi right about now."

"Yeah, me, too," she replied. "Remember how we used to do it at Huntington Beach? And there were a bunch of us."

"Yeah. That was awesome. Blue's learning some of it now. He's getting pretty good for a beginner."

"Really?" Rachel was glad that, at least for the moment, Ronnie's mind was on something other than Ray. "I didn't think Blue was the tai chi type."

"Neither did I. But he'll be better than I am when he's been doing it this long."

Rachel laughed. "You were terrible when you started. You moved like an elephant."

"Hey!" Ronnie said, already beginning to nurse his wounded ego. "I wasn't that bad."

"You were, too," she said with a laugh.

"Well, I don't recall you being a swan, either," Ronnie replied.

"Well, I wasn't good, but you were bad."

Ronnie laughed. "OK, so it took me almost a year to get past looking like an elephant. But you weren't good either." His face was becoming red very quickly.

Rachel smiled. "Oh, who cares?" She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. Ronnie smiled at her, a sparkle in his blue eyes.

"You want to go get ice cream after school?" she asked. "My treat."

"I can't," he said, disappointment in his voice. "I have practice."

"Oh. Well, I can wait until after practice. My dad's not home, remember?"

"Yeah. Only I'm grounded," he replied.

"Why?" she asked.

"My old man was pretty peed about the couch thing," he said.

"I'm sorry, Ronnie. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

"No, Rache. You didn't get me in trouble. I did what I did, not you."

"Oh, man. Well, how long are you grounded?"

"Until Saturday."

"Good. You won't be grounded next week."

"Nope."

"Then I'll treat us to some ice cream then."

"Sorry. But we can't do it then either."

"Why not?"

He smiled and winked. "Because the guys would never let me live it down if my girlfriend took ME out."

Rachel laughed. "Well, 'the guys' are pigs. But I like 'em anyway."

"Well, maybe they are pigs. But here, there are rules," he said in a mockingly serious voice as they entered their American Lit classroom.

As class started, Ronnie couldn't concentrate. He knew he was going to have to face off with Ray sooner or later. And he would just as soon have it over with.

Ronnie was one of the first at football practice. The only others to arrive before he did were Gerry and Julius, and Coaches Boone, Yoast, and Hines.

Julius pulled Ronnie aside and said, "We need to talk, Sunshine."

"Sure, Julius. What's up?"

"I want you to leave Ray alone if you can. We can't afford for you to get hurt. Rev ain't nowhere near ready to play quarterback again. We need you. And if you go down, our season pretty much goes with you."

"Rachel needs me more," Ronnie said in a tone Julius had never heard him use before. It reminded him of steel. Cold and hard, with a sharp edge.

Julius grabbed Ronnie by the arm. "Hey, Sunshine!"

Ronnie turned to face Julius. "What do you want, man?"

"Listen, Sunshine, I know you're pi..." at this time, Rev walked in, so Julius made a slight word change. "I know you're mad. But I'm not Ray, remember? This team is a family. And you don't talk to your brother like that."

Ronnie thought about it just a moment. "Yeah. Sorry, Julius."

"It's OK, man. Just simmer down. Don't bring this out on the field. I'd hate to see Boone break his foot off in your John Brown hindparts."

Ronnie managed a half-hearted smile. "Yeah."

By this time, the team was flooding the room. "You gonna be OK, Sunshine?" Julius asked.

"Yeah. I guess so."

Gerry walked up to Sunshine and Julius. "Hey, y'all! Boone's gettin' pretty ticked. He wants everybody dressed and on the field in two minutes. Exactly."

Ronnie ran to his locker, hurredly pulling on his shoulder pads, then his practice jersey, then his football pants. He made it onto the field just as Boone blew his whistle.

First, the whole team ran a warm up lap. Then they did up-downs. Then they got started working on plays. They worked on a play with Rev as a runningback, that they really hoped never to have to use. It was a good play, but it was only to be used in emergencies. They were playing for the regional title that weekend, and they wanted to be ready. After the practice, they gathered for the "Coach Boone Patented Pep Talk." He told them that practice was going to run a little late the next day, so to "tell momma not to keep supper warm."

As they headed toward the locker room, Coach Boone called, "Sunshine, Bertier, I want you two, front and center."

Gerry and Ronnie looked at each other, then ran down to Coach Boone. "Yessir?" Gerry said.

"I heard you boys had a little run-in with Budds," Boone said, his voice quieter than either of the boys had ever heard it.

Gerry looked directly at Boone. "Yessir."

Ronnie couldn't look at Boone. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time his shoes had looked so interesting. He was scared that Boone was going to return him to his original position of "full offensive bench-warmer." He didn't know what Boone would do to him if he answered.

"Sunshine," Boone said. "I didn't say that just to hear myself talk, son. I need to know why. I do not approve of fighting. Or almost fighting, unless you have a heck of a good reason."

"I do, Coach," Ronnie said. "Ray deserves to be drug behind a truck going about 70 down the interstate. But I was just going to settle for beating the crap out of him."

Gerry couldn't help thinking how graphic the thought was for a hippie.

Boone tried not to smile. "Well, you need a REASON, Sunshine."

"Coach, he... He hit a girl. My... my girlfriend. And he really hurt her."

Coach Boone shook his head. "That boy... I wish I could..."

Gerry nodded. "Yeah, Coach. Me, too."

Boone smiled a little.

"Sorry if I did anything wrong, Coach," Ronnie began. "but..."

"Nah, Sunshine. I don't think you should be getting in fights. But I understand. And if it ain't on school property, they can't do nothin'."

"Yessir."

"Well, you boys hit the showers."

"Yessir," they replied in unison.

The two boys ran up to the locker room. Julius and Petey were waiting for them in the locker room. "You alright, Sunshine?" Petey asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Rachel said to tell you she'd see you tomorrow. She walked home."

"She WHAT?" Ronnie couldn't believe she'd just walked home with Ray to worry about.

Petey's mind suddenly registered why Ronnie was so upset. "Oh, no!"

Ronnie didn't even take time to shower. He got dressed and ran to his truck. Petey yelled after him, "Be careful, man!"

Ronnie didn't answer. He got into his truck and put it in gear. He pulled out of the parking lot as fast as was legally possible, and hoped that he'd find Rachel before Ray did.

Rachel was walking down the sidewalk, two streets away from home, when she heard a voice that sent a shiver of fear throughout her body. "Hey, Rachel!"

She couldn't believe Ray had followed her. She began to walk briskly, hoping she'd make it home before Ray could get to her.

But he didn't let her get away. He ran until he caught her. He put his arms around her, as if he expected her to act like she didn't care that he had hit her, ar pushed himself way past her boundaries.

"Are you OK, Rachel?"

She rolled her eyes. "As if you care."

"I do care," he said, feigning innocence.

"Yeah, right," she said.

"Oh, come on. I'm sorry, baby," Ray said.

"Don't you dare call me baby. I'm not your girlfriend. And get your hands off of me."

Ray acted oblivious to her words. He pulled her closer and rubbed her arms.

"Ray Budds, you have five seconds to get your fithy hands off me," Rachel said, standing up straight and making her voice sound strong, even though she didn't feel strong.

Ray tried to kiss her, but she pulled away. "Stop it, Ray!"

"Aw, come on, Rachel. I'll get us something to eat, and then we can go to my place. My mom's in Richmond visiting family, and my dad's working late, so we can have the place all to our selves. We'll talk things out."

"No. You expect me to believe that you're thinking about talking? I've been out with you before, remember. And you don't control your hormones too well. Leave me alone, Ray." She tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong. She felt trapped, and started beating his chest. When that didn't work, she began to yell for help. Which was completely useless, since all of the houses were empty.

Ray whispered, "Shh...quiet..."

Rachel was about to give up when she heard a vehicle. "Thank God," she gasped.

Ronnie got out of his truck. "Get in the truck, Rachel," he said, softly. Ray cruelly squeezed her tighter until she couldn't breathe, then let her go, gasping for air. She ran to get into Ronnie's truck.

Ronnie looked at Ray, anger spread over his face. "I'll be at your house in five or ten minutes, Ray. You better be there."

Ray narrowed his eyes, then turned to walk toward his house.

Ronnie turned to go to his truck, when Ray turned around to attack him from behind.

Ronnie turned around quickly, knowing that if Ray got him down first, he would bust his head on the cement sidewalk. He pushed the shorter boy to the side before he pushed him down, so that his head hit the grass. As much as Ronnie couldn't stand Ray, he had no desire to give him a concussion. Rachel watched as Ronnie landed on top of Ray, sending a flurry of punches at his face. Ray flipped Ronnie onto his back and began to beat the blonde guys face and body. It was all Ronnie could do not to scream as Ray cleverly hit him right where he'd injured him before. He resplit Ronnie's upper lip and punched the bruises on his chin. He battered Ronnie's sore ribs and arms.

Ronnie knew he had two options. He could either gather up the strength he had left and flip Ray onto his back, or he could have the crap beaten out of him.

He heard Rachel's quiet crying, and it seemed to give him strength. He pulled himself together and pushed against Ray with all of the strength he had left. He knew he had the upper hand, and that he needed to take advantage of it pretty quick, so he peppered the short teen with punches. Ray tasted blood as his teeth cut his lips. His eye was swelling, and Ronnie just kept going. Ronnie was tired, but he was blinded by fury. So he kept fighting, and hoped he wouldn't have to much longer.

Ray's breathing had become laboured, and he couldn't fight much longer. Ronnie knew that, so he stood up. He was panting himself, and it almost made him dizzy. "I want you to leave right now, Ray. I don't want you to spread anymore of this BS about me and Rachel. And I don't want to see you anywhere near her again."

Ray stood up slowly, and staggered just a little as the lack of air to his head set in. He slowly stumbled away. Ronnie watched him to make sure that he wouldn't come back, so that Ronnie could get into his truck safely.

When he got in the truck, he knew he was hurt pretty badly. Nothing a little rest couldn't fix, but still, it hurt. He hoped he'd be OK for the game.

"Rachel," he said, "I want you to get a ride from now on. Don't walk home. It's too dangerous with Ray around."

"OK, Ronnie, I will."

Ronnie drove Rachel home, then headed toward his own house. He knew he was in for it when he got home, but it was worth it. It was worth beating Ray to a pulp. And the fact that he'd gotten Ray's hands off of Rachel. At least for the moment. But now he ahd something much harder to do. He had to deal with Rachel's dad. Without making someone mad at him.

If he told someone, Rachel would be mad. He'd sworn he wouldn't say anything, and yet, how could he not tell? How could he let her dad keep hurting her.

As he pulled into the driveway, his mind drifted to his own dad. He was in trouble. He saw his dad standing on the porch.

"Yep, I'm in deep trouble."

He got out of his truck and grabbed his bookbag, careful not to sling it against his sore ribs.

Colonel Bass looked at Ronnie. The boy's hair was full of dirt, and his shirt and jeans were grass stained. Both were ripped. His new pair of jeans had holes in both knees, and his left shirt sleeve was hanging on threads.

"Where have you been, Ronald?"

Ronnie was too tired to even be annoyed at the use of the name "Ronald." He looked at his feet. He knew better than to lie to his dad. And even if he could've lied, he wouldn't have known what to say. Nothing could explain the way he looked, and how late he was. "I was fighting with Ray. He tried to hurt Rachel again."

Colonel Bass shook his head. "I don't like all of this. That Budds boy could use a good beating. Any boy who would hurt a girl..."

"Well, I gave him a good beating, Dad."

Colonel Bass looked at Ronnie. "Son, I don't like this fighting. But I do understand.

"Yessir," Ronnie replied before running upstairs to take a shower.

A/N I'm still not sure about how to deal with Rachel's dad. And I still don't know what to do about Julie. Any suggestions? Or, to quote JarJar Binks, "Any help here would be hot."


	7. An Unexpected Friendship

DISCLAIMER: I don't own RtT! I wish I owned Ryan Hurst! He is the finest thing I've ever laid eyes on. He is so HOT! I don't own TC Williams, or anybody who went there, past, present, or future. I don't own the song, "If You're Going to San Fransisco (Wear Flowers in Your Hair)." I love the song! I just decided to toss it in there!   
  
MY NOTES: Hey, y'all! I'm back again. Sadly, this chappie has no music. But it is kind of important. It includes a very strange moment between Julie and Rachel. It's also the regional championship chapter. Which means *eyes fill with tears* Gerry's accident. :-( *Sobs uncontrollably as she says Gerry's name* Which has very little bearing on the story, but I love Gerry, so I have to throw in a little aside about him every once in a while. That is my right as the writer. 'Course, his cousin is one of the more important characters, so I guess I can have him in here, right? Oh! To reviewers, thanks so much for doing your stuff! But, just a little question... Could y'all like, point out things that you particularly like, or don't like? That way, I know which "muse" to work with, and what stuff is crap to never do again. Oh, well. Sorry! My disclaimers and notes always seem to ramble pointlessly! Well, tell me if you hate my rambling, and I'll really try to cut it out...  
  
~Chapter 7: An Unexpected Friendship~  
  
That weekend, the Titans played for the regional championship. Rachel was glad that she had been able to travel to the away game. She was sitting on the front row with JoAnna on her right, and Rev's younger sister, Laura, on her right. Next to Laura was Julie. Even though they weren't at catfight-level, Rachel and Julie had no particular desire to sit together.  
  
The Titans were amazing. Rachel was proud every time she watched her quarterback lead his team to a touchdown.  
  
Ronnie crouched behind the center and prepared to receive the snap. "Blue 21! Blue 21! Hut-hut!" He felt the pigskin in his hands and backed up to let the linemen do their work. The defense was really good, and Ronnie began to get a little worried. He found his runningback and threw the ball hard. It landed neatly in the runningback's hands, and Ronnie watched him run. He ended up being tackled not far from the goal line by the star linebacker. Ronnie thought the guy deserved an 'unnecessary roughage' penalty, but the refs were turning a blind eye to everything the other team was doing.  
  
When they went for the touchdown, Ronnie got sacked for the fourth down. The defense came in, and Ronnie took his place on the bench to wait until he was called in. As he watched, Ronnie knew something wasn't right. They kept calling holds on Petey and Blue. And they were obviously not holding. Ronnie wouldn't have been so upset had the calls been fair, but they weren't holding.   
  
Sheryl Yoast was pacing up and down the bleachers yelling, "Come on! That wasn't a hold! That was such a bad call!"  
  
Ronnie couldn't help smiling at the little girl. He thought he would feel better if he could go pace with her. He found himself slapping his thigh pads, then his knees. He couldn't sit still. He was completely on edge.  
  
Rachel knew enough about football to know that the refs were calling holds that weren't there. And all of them were on black players. She was furious.  
  
Coach Yoast kept looking at Sheryl, and Coach Boone was standing, arms crossed, chewing the living daylights out of a piece of gum that had lost its flavor long ago. Rachel saw the ref telling Boone to stay away.  
  
Coach Yoast finally seemed to snap. He called the ref's name, and went up to talk to him. Some of the Titans were yelling, "Tell 'em, Coach!"  
  
Yoast walked away from the ref, and called the defense in. As he talked to them, Ronnie saw Petey walk off and throw his helmet to the side. Then Coach said something that was apparently quite eloquent, because the defense started yelling, then they hollered, "Titans!"  
  
The defense took the field again, and lined up. Ronnie looked on as Gerry and Julius took down runner after runner. Then, Gerry ran down to Coach Taber, and pointed in his face, as if to say, "You're going down."  
  
And Taber and his boys did indeed go down. The Titans took home a 44-14 victory.  
  
They were yelling, the fans were yelling... Everybody was on a complete and total adrenaline rush. The team finally had to go take showers and get on the buses.  
  
Rachel rode to the unloading spot in Laura's blue Charger. She and Laura waited together for the boys. As the players streamed off of the bus, Rachel eagerly scanned the crowd for Ronnie. He walked off the bus behind Petey, who was still in a bad mood about the holding penalties.  
  
Rachel ran up to Ronnie and kissed him squarely on the lips. "That was for winning the game." She kissed him again. "And that was just 'cause I love you."  
  
Ronnie smiled. "Well, all of us won the game. So I guess you better go give the other guys their kisses."  
  
She knew he was kidding, so she decided to tease him back. "Well, if you think I should... Who should I kiss first? I'm sorta thinkin' Gerry, 'cause he's mighty fine... Or maybe Julius? But then, maybe I should help Petey get over his bad mood... But that might boost his ego too much. Whatcha think?"  
  
"Well, if I'd known you were going to be that excited about it, I wouldn't have suggested it."  
  
"I'm just kidding!"  
  
"Well, I'm not grounded anymore. So...you wanna go celebrate?"  
  
"Yeah! Let's go!" The two teens went to tell Colonel and Mrs. Bass that they were going out to eat.  
  
They walked off, hand-in-hand, to Ronnie's truck. They went to Antonio's, one of the integrated places in the city. It was an Italian place that Ronnie really liked. Ronnie ordered spaghetti and meatballs, and Rachel ordered chicken alfredo with cheese sauce, as "If You're Going to San Fransisco" played on the radio.  
  
"We're gonna smell really nice, huh, Ronnie?" Rachel said, "All, this garlic."  
  
Ronnie laughed. "Well, at least we're both eating it. So we can kiss without smelling each other."  
  
"Good," she replied.  
  
They payed no attention to the ringing phone until the waitress that answered it looked around the room and said, "Sunshine?"  
  
Ronnie turned around. She held the phone out in his direction, so he stood up and went over to the phone. He wondered who would be calling him at Antonio's. Blue and Lewie had started an odd tradition of pretending to be a player from the other team and leaving weird death threats as a joke, but they wouldn't call him at Antonio's. Which reminded him that he was supposed to call Gerry and pretend to be Coach Taber's linebacker... And he didn't have a whacky threat planned yet... When Alan had called him, pretending to be the QB from Groveton, he had threatened to hang Ronnie up by the ears... But that wasn't good enough for Gerry. Ronnie managed to think all of that in less than three seconds, as he raised the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he said, not quite sure who's voice to expect on the other line.  
  
"Ronnie, son, you need to come home," Colonel Bass said.  
  
Ronnie didn't like his dad's tone. It worried him. "What's wrong, dad?"  
  
"Just come home. I'll see you in a little bit."  
  
"OK, Dad. I'm on my way."  
  
Rachel was finished, so Ronnie payed the tab, and Rachel insisted on fronting the tip. They headed out to Ronnie's truck, and left for his house. He was worried when they were detoured because of an accident scene. He tried to see the car, but it was surrounded by people.  
  
He took the detour, and got home. He and Rachel went inside. Ronnie was worried when he saw his parents and JoAnna on the couch and Petey in an armchair. The tall blonde could feel the tension in the room, and tried in vain to break it. "Hey, Petey," he said. "Feelin' better?"  
  
Petey didn't answer his friend's question. He looked up at Ronnie and said, "Sunshine...we...uh...Bertier got hurt. Real bad, man. He totalled his Camaro, and...Well, we need to get to the hospital pretty quick."  
  
"Oh, no! Is he...Is he OK?"  
  
"I don't think so. Coaches said we'd talk at the hospital."  
  
Ronnie nodded. "Rache, will you be OK here?"  
  
She nodded. "Go ahead, babe."  
  
The phone rang, and Ronnie ran to answer it. He came back, saying, "That was Emma. I'm gonna give her a ride to the hospital."  
  
Colonel Bass nodded. "Be careful, son."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Rachel was going crazy. She wanted to be with Ronnie, to comfort him. She was worried about Gerry, too. He was such a nice guy. And as much as she hated to admit it, she was feeling sorry for the things she had done to and thought about Julie. Even though they got along for the most part, Rachel had still been pretty mean to her at times.  
  
Ronnie called about an hour later, from a payphone at the hospital. Colonel Bass answered the phone, then came into the living room to break the news. "Gerry's paralyzed from the waist down."  
  
"Oh, that poor boy!" Mrs. Bass exclaimed.  
  
JoAnna started crying, and so did Rachel. Everybody loved Gerry, and they couldn't believe he was hurt. Not like that.  
  
Rachel needed to be with Ronnie. "Colonel, I need to go to the hospital."  
  
"Me, too, Dad," JoAnna added.  
  
"You two take the Camaro," he replied. Rachel guessed that it was only his military bearing that kept him from crying.  
  
The two girls headed out to the car and drove to the hospital. "I can't believe this," JoAnna said. "This couldn't happen. Not to Gerry. Julius calls him Superman. I always kind of thought he was."  
  
Rachel nodded as she accelerated.  
  
They arrived at the hospital, and headed for the ER. When Rachel looked into the waiting room, she saw Ronnie with his arms around Julie. She was crying, her face buried in Ronnie's chest. "Shh..." she heard him whisper.  
  
She tried to fight the jealousy rising up inside of her, and walked into the room. She knew that Julie needed someone to cry with, and Ronnie was a great crying partner.  
  
"Hey, Rache," Ronnie said softly.  
  
"Hey, Ronnie," she replied, sitting at his side. "How is he?"  
  
"Physically, not too good. But he's alive."  
  
She nodded.  
  
Julie said she was going to get a cup of coffee, and Rachel said she was going with her. JoAnna was going to stay with Ronnie.  
  
Rachel and Julie purchased their coffee at the cafeteria. Rachel stirred cream and sugar into hers, but Julie drank hers black. They sat there a moment before Julie broke the silence. "Rachel, I know... I know that Sunshine's yours. But...but I love him."  
  
Rachel didn't really know what to say. "He's a hard guy not to love."  
  
"Yeah. He is. But... you... Ronnie loves you."  
  
Rachel nodded. "I love him, too."  
  
"I'm jealous of you, Rachel," Julie continued. "You're so pretty and smart. And you're real social. Everybody likes you... But I'm not any of those things."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Wait just a minute. First of all, you ARE pretty. I would kill to have eyes like yours. You can't always tell what color they are. If I were a guy, I would find that VERY sexy," Rachel said with a grin.  
  
Julie laughed. "Sexy? Now THERE'S a word that has never been used to describe me before."  
  
"Well, you know that people would call you sexy if Gerry wasn't always in the locker room."  
  
Julie sniffled just a little at the mention of Gerry's name. Then she smiled. "True. Gerry wouldn't like hearing me referred to as sexy."  
  
"Nope, probably not." Rachel smiled, and as much as she wanted to, Julie couldn't hate her.  
  
Rachel smiled. "And as for smart...I'd be failing Spanish if I didn't borrow notes from you and Ronnie."  
  
Julie smiled. Come to think of it, Rachel wasn't exactly Señora McLamb's favorite student.  
  
"Now as far as social, I'm not sure. I like people, but... I don't really have too many friends. And not everybody likes me. I just try to get along with people. But it's harder here. In Alexandria, I mean. People don't react well to 'hippies.' It's like there is this little mold, especially for girls, and if you don't fit, you aren't 'in.'"  
  
"But you're not really a..."  
  
"Hippie? Yeah, I know that. And you know that. But alot of people don't."  
  
The two girls went back to the waiting room, after finishing their coffee. They were surprised that they were facing the very real possibility of being friends.  
  
"Thanks, Rachel," Julie said, in a gentle tone.  
  
"Thank YOU, Julie," Rachel replied, a soft smile on her face.  
  
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~  
  
A/N: OK, so maybe that's kinda weird. But, anyway... I hope you still like it... Review, please! And please r/r "The Dated and the Dumped" by Jamaican Sunshine. She's my bud, so give her a look...  
  
Up Next: Rachel's dad goes too far, and Ronnie is forced to take action... 


	8. Mother and Father

DISCLAIMER: As usual, the Titans, TC Williams, Camaros, Chargers, VW Beetles and anything else you've ever heard of are not mine. They won't ever be mine. But (!) Miles (Rachel's dad), Nathan, Kevin (Her brothers), and Molly (Her mom) are mine! Laura Harris is also mine. So please don't steal them. The song "Mother" belonged to John Lennon. It now, most likely, belongs to Yoko Ono. So, if Yoko reads this (Like THAT would ever happen), please don't sue me! I love John's music, and I don't have any money anyway...As I've said before, "Surfer Girl" isn't mine either. Mama Cass owns herself, even though she died a long time ago. She had the best voice! sighs as she thinks of Mama Cass's song, Dream a Little Dream of Me John Fogherty owns himself, too. I love his voice, too. The man makes me feel what he's singing. sighs again as she mentally hears the CCR song, "Someday Never Comes 

MY NOTES: Thanks so much to Sundiata (Grace) for letting me know that she doesn't hate my rambling. It makes me feel better. :-) But I must say after reading the notes in your story, that if e-bay auctions off Kip and Ryan, I'm gonna buy Ryan, and Jamaican Sunshine is gonna get Kip:-) lol. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Abuse is WRONG! If you know that someone is being abused (I don't mean getting spankings, but really abused!) report it! Don't let it keep happening!

Chapter 8: Mother (and Father)

Rachel found herself sitting with Julie, Laura, JoAnna, and Emma Hoyt at the last game of the season, the state championships against Marshall High School. Emma stood up at the last minute and said, "There's somethin' I gotta do. I'll be right back."

Rachel watched Emma walk down to the field and shake hands with Julius. Rachel and Julie smiled at each other. It looked like things with Emma and the black guys were gonna be just fine.

They watched as the game began. Marshall's coach, Ed Henry, led his team to score after score. He ran an amazing shotgun, which the Titans had never faced before. Marshall's offense was so good that the Titans rarely got the ball.

They went into the second half trailing, but they surprised everybody, when they pulled their trick play out of the hat. Rev was called in, and nobody but the Titans were quite sure why. They didn't need two QB's on the field. But yet another surprise...he was playing runningback. Boone ordered a Fake 23 Blast with a Backside George Reverse. And he got one. With the works. Ronnie called the play and received the snap, making a quick handoff. Rev ran down field, and Ronnie followed him, eventually passing him. Marshall's defense was watching the QB for the pass, so they over-persued him, and the guy with the ball made a long pass to Rev. The injured QB turned runningback ran like he was on fire. Ronnie blocked for him, headbutting anyone in the way. Rev crossed the goal line, yelling. The play had worked like a charm. Fans streamed onto the field to celebrate with their team.

Ronnie found Rachel and gave her a resounding kiss on the lips. Julie looked sadly at the couple. Rachel was her friend, but Ronnie owned her heart. And he had from the moment he'd sent her the corny invitation to Homecoming.

"We're goin' to the hospital later, Rache," Ronnie said. "You wanna go with us?"

"No. I want to, but I can't. Dad's home, and I have to cook dinner. He said straight to the game, straight home."

Ronnie's blue eyes darkened as he thought of Rachel's dad. Miles Shannon.

"It's OK, Ronnie. My dad's not so bad."

"As if hitting you is 'not so bad.'"

"No, Ronnie. He never hit me before...before my brother..."

Rachel looked at her feet, and Ronnie slid his index finger under her chin, lifting her face so that he could look at her. "What about your brother?"

"I couldn't...I didn't tell you before because it hurt too much. But I had two brothers, Ronnie."

"Two?" Ronnie asked. He had met her brother, Kevin before, but he didn't know that she had another.

"Yeah. I had another brother named Nathan. But...He's dead. He died before I met you."

"How'd..." Ronnie couldn't believe she'd kept this from him.

"He died in 'Nam. The Tet Offensive."

"Oh, Rache, I..."

"Well, he didn't start hurting us until Nathan died. And then Mom left, so he had to hit me and Kevin, or thought he had to. But then, Kevin joined the Air Force, so it's just me. And Dad hits me."

"Oh, Rache, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me? I could've..."

"Done absolutely nothing. You can't bring Nathan back. And you can't make my mom come back. And you can't make my dad stop what he's doing."

"Rachel, you and your dad... You both need help."

"Well, maybe so, but you're not going to get it for us, OK?"

Ronnie shook his head. "I don't want to make another stupid promise."

"What?"

"Just, be careful, Rachel. I love you."

"I love you, too, Sunshine," she said, teasingly using his new nickname.

"Let me know if you need me."

"OK."

Rachel got a ride home with Julie, in her VW Beetle. She was really quiet, and Julie was worried. "You OK, Rachel?"

"Oh, yeah. Just trying to decide what to fix for dinner."

"Well, we're almost there, so you better figure it out pretty quick," Julie said with a smile. Rachel wished she could figure it out pretty quick. But she couldn't. Not everything she needed to figure out.

Julie pulled into Rachel's driveway, and said, "Well, I'll see you at school Monday."

"OK. Tell Gerry I'm sorry I couldn't come, but I'm thinking about him."

"Sure. See ya."

"See ya."

Rachel climbed out of the car, wishing that when she entered her home, she'd see the Dad she used to have, and not the man he had become.

No such luck. Not only was her dad drunk, but he was mad. Really mad.

"Where have you been? That game was over almost fourty-five minutes ago."

"Dad, it's a thirty minute drive."

"And how did you manage to kill the other fifteen minutes?"

"I just went down to congratulate Ronnie and the rest of the team," she said, hoping that her voice wasn't quivering with fear. She would rather have faced a hundred Rays than her dad.

"Yeah. I saw that. Saw you kissin' that hippie boy on TV."

"What?" she questioned.

"Don't play stupid. I saw it. I want you to leave that boy alone. Him and his kind are why your brother is dead." Rachel's dad never said Nathan's name. He just referred to him as "your brother."

Rachel wanted to defend Ronnie, but not to this man. He would make her pay dearly for every word she said.

"You 'n' him go around practicin' that 'free love' crap, too?"

"No, Dad. Never."

"Yeah. You're just like 'em. You and your bellbottoms and flowers and peace signs."

"No, Dad. I just want everybody to be safe again."

"Well, it's never gonna be that way."

Rachel turned to go to the kitchen, but her dad grabbed her arm tightly. She knew there would be bruises there the next day. "Where do you think you're goin'?"

"To cook dinner, Dad."

"Yeah. Probably goin' to call that hippie boy."

"No, sir. I was just going to start dinner."

"Bet you slept with half the boys on that team already."

Rachel wondered where he got some of his crap. She guessed he said things to make her angry, so that when he beat her, he would have a 'reason' to somewhat alleviate his guilt.

"Been keepin' company with the colored boys, too?"

She shook her head. "No, Dad." The word 'colored' made her angry. But she hadn't been "keeping company" with the black guys. At least, not in the way he meant it. They were her friends, no more.

Rachel turned to go to the kitchen again, but this time, her dad turned her around to face him. All she saw was a fist coming at her before her world went black.

Rachel woke up in a crumpled heap in the corner. Her head ached, and her eye was swollen shut. There were major bruises on her arms, but her bones were intact. Her first thought was that she had told Ronnie she'd be fine. So much for that.

Rachel made a spur of the moment decision. She would leave. Run far away, and hope that noone caught her. She knew that getting caught would get her a much worse beating than this one, but getting away would be the only way she'd survive. She walked up to her room, careful not to wake her dad, who was sleeping on the couch. She grabbed a small bag and began stuffing it with a few things that she wanted and needed. She shoved her life savings of six-hundred dollars into her bag. She was glad she'd kept it well-hidden. She was going to need it. She picked out a few changes of clothes and shoved her flip-flops in a corner of the bag. She put a picture of Ronnie, herself, and Kevin together in the bag, then added a picture of her mother, Molly, and Nathan. She wished for the hundredth time that she had a car, but she didn't. She would have taken her dad's, but it was way to easy too get caught when you were hauling a stolen car. At last she grabbed a small notebook and a pen. She scribbled a note to her dad.

Dad,

I wish I could stay, but I can't. I love you, and I'm sorry about Nathan and Mom. But I can't let you hurt me anymore. Goodbye.

Rachel

She quietly tiptoed down the stairs and went outside. She waited until she was away from the house to run. She went to the Basses' house, and sat quietly in the woods with a flashlight, writing a note to Ronnie.

Dear Ronnie,

You were right. I wish I'd listened. My dad's not gonna get better. And I need to accept it. He will always hurt me. I love you, Ronnie. I always have. And I always will. But I have to go. Please don't say anything. I'll write you when I'm safe. I wish I knew where my mom is, but I don't. And if I went to her, they'd find me anyway. I want you to tell Gerry that, besides you, Julie, Laura, and Emma, he's my best friend. Tell him thanks for all he's done for me. And tell him I'll miss him.

I'll miss you, too, Ronnie. I'm gonna feel so lonely. Take care of Julie, and she'll take care of you. She'll be better for you than I'd ever be anyway.

Tell Rev to pray for me, because when Rev prays, God pays special attention. Tell him thanks for being my friend. And tell Laura that I'll miss her, too.

I'll see you again, Ronnie. I promise. Tell all the guys I love 'em. They're just like brothers. And tell 'em congrats on the win tonight. And tell Emma not to worry, 'cause I know she will.

Remember our song, "Surfer Girl." And I want you to take care of my board. I might need it again.

Love always,

Rache

She cried a few tears, and cursed herself when the ink smeared. Then she folded the letter and wrote "To Ronnie" on the outside. "Goodbye," she whispered softly.

Rachel opened the Basses' screen door as quietly as is possible (which, unfortunately, isn't very quietly). She slid the note between the screen door and the front door, and gently shut it.

As she ran off into the woods, she hoped that she'd make it. And she thought about Ronnie. She knew that somewhere, she'd find someone to love her, who wouldn't live so close to her dad. So close to all of her pain and sorrow. So close to all of the dreams that were dying this very night.

Rachel found herself wishing for her mother. The woman who'd loved her so much. But she wondered why, if she cared about her, she had left Rachel at the mercy of her dad. But she remembered her mother as a good woman. When Rachel was little, her mother always sang to her. She had a sweet, clear voice, just like Mama Cass. Rachel had been told that she herself was a good singer, but she didn't think so. She sang a little more like the female version of John Fogherty. But her mom was amazing. She was so beautiful.

She wished that Nathan was still alive. She wished he was there to make everything OK again. She wished that she could have the happy family she'd had before. But, she didn't. And she never would.

Ronnie woke up early that morning, and went downstairs. He opened the door, and saw the note. He quickly unfolded it, and almost cried when he read the words Rachel had written. "Dad, Rachel ran away! I've gotta find her!"

Colonel Bass ran down the stairs, and saw his son, shaking like a leaf, with the letter in his hands. "What happened, Ronnie?"

Ronnie couldn't talk, but he handed his dad the letter. He read it quickly, and refolded it. "Get dressed, son. We'll find her. But I need to do something else first."

"OK, Dad," Ronnie said, running upstairs. He pulled on an old pair of jeans and a grey sweater. He ran back downstairs, where Colonel Bass was standing, dressed already.

"I called the police, Ronnie. They've taken Rachel's dad into custody."

Ronnie nodded, but he didn't know what to say. Rachel was not going to be happy, but it was better this way. Her Dad needed to be put away, where he couldn't hurt her anymore. And now, Ronnie wanted nothing more than to find Rachel again.

A/N: Hope you like... I really didn't end up having Ronnie take action, but Colonel Bass did. So... I think I've got my story set, now. This is the first chappie ever that I wrote almost completely on the computer, so I hope it's good. I'm gonna try to get this thing finished pretty soon. Hope y'all keep reading. And REVIEWING. (hint hint) No pressure. raises eyebrow in question Oh well! Hope to write more soon! D


	9. Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Titans, real or created by Disney. I also do not own the actors who portrayed them. sobs uncontrollably as she thinks of Ryan Hurst I wish I owned him! Gosh, he's hot! Oh, well! "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" is not mine. (Side note, Yayness about the word "Sunshine" being in the title of the song!) It was sung by so many people I've lost count, but I don't know who it officially belongs to. But I do know it isn't mine. My dad's band also does this song, and my dad does the honor of singing it! It's good stuff, y'all! RC Cola isn't mine either. 

MY NOTES: Greatest thanks to my reviewers! I'm so excited, because on they have a message board, and I left a few questions for the team. I got answers from both Paula (Coach Hines's daughter), and Jerry Buck! Major YAYness! Special thanks to Jamaican Sunshine, Shannon, and Grace for being so faithful in reviewing! You makest me happy! Oh, well, how I ramble... I'm kinda like an old lady talking about the past. It just goes on and on... Sorry! I'll shut up and get with the program. At least until next time. But the good news is, I know where this is going now. I have it planned out to the end! YAY, me!

Chapter 9: Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone

Rachel walked all day, and hoped Ronnie wouldn't try to follow her. She had a bad feeling that he would, though.

Ronnie couldn't believe she was gone. That she had just left without...without a goodbye, or anything. Just a peice of paper. Did she think that her little note was going to make Ronnie feel better? Did she really think it was even going to help?

He and his dad were in the Camaro, checking all the places she might have been. At Ronnie's suggestion, they went to the football field. Rachel really liked it there. When noone else was there, and all was quiet, she said it was the best place ever to think. She went there whenever she got the chance. She loved being there and being silent. But when they got there, she wasn't there.

After they had checked the police station and the hospital, they took to the woods. It was beginning to get cold already, and Ronnie was glad for his coat. He and his dad went to Marshall Harris's store after a while in the woods, and purchased some coffee.

"Mr. Harris?" Ronnie asked.

"Yeah, son?"

"Have you seen Rachel?" he asked, hoping that the old man might know something.

"Yeah, I have. Saw her this mornin'. She said she was goin' on a trip, and she bought a few things. Some bread, peanut butter, several bottles of RC Cola."

Ronnie nodded. "Did she say anything about where she was going?"

"No. Sorry, son. She didn't."

"Thanks, Mr. Harris."

Colonel Bass and Ronnie left and went deeper into the woods. They needed to find Rachel. To tell her that everything was going to be OK, and that her dad was in jail.

Rachel was alone in the woods, crying her eyes out and trying to keep walking. She wanted to escape her problems, but something inside of her wanted Ronnie to find her and hold her, at least one time.

Ronnie knew he'd never be able to rest easy until he knew that Rachel was safe, and that she was happy, and with people who truly loved her. He didn't know how she planned to live without any money, or a job. Or a high school education. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, and whispered a prayer that he would find her safe and sound. He wondered how badly her dad had hurt her. It must've been badly for her to have run away.

As he and his dad went even further into the woods, Ronnie heard a noise. A familiar noise. It was crying. Rachel crying. He prayed that she was OK. He pused on through the woods, and the crying became louder.

Ronnie saw her first, sitting alone by a tree with a thin blanket around her shoulders. He held up a hand to his dad, and went ahead of him to Rachel. "Rache?" he said, softly.

"Please, don't hurt me!" she screamed, frightened beyond belief.

"Oh, no! Rache, I'm not gonna hurt you. I love you."

"Ronnie?" she sobbed. "Please, don't make me go back to my dad!"

Ronnie winced when he saw her swollen eye and the split place on her forehead. "No, Rachel. I will never make you go back to your dad. He's in jail, and he can't hurt you anymore." He walked over to squat beside her. "Come with us. We'll get you some help."

She was so weak, and he had to help her stand up. He wondered how she'd made it this far with her bag, considering her injuries. She could barely walk, so Ronnie lovingly scooped her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. She buried her head in his chest and let herself rest, in the one place she felt truly safe. Ronnie Bass's arms.

A/N : That's GOT to be the shortest chapter in the history of this story! I can't believe this. And, Grace, I'm sorry about that last little part. I had to put her in Ronnie's arms. :-) Well, I'll say adios now, until next time.


	10. This Side

DISCLAIMER: The Original Titans are not mine. The Titans created by Disney aren't mine either. "This Side" belongs to Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, who is an AMAZING guitar player! The other two in the band, Sara Watkins and Chris Thile are amazing, too. I'm a mandolin player, and Chris is like, one of my faves! I couldn't let a disclaimer pass without mentioning how I wish I own Ryan Hurst! And, you know, Sean Watkins isn't too shabby himself! Hot, and a guitar player... I don't know. It might be good. :-) 

MY NOTES: Greatest thanks to my reviewers, especially Sunny, Shannon, and Grace, who have been so cool about reviewing! You rock! I'm almost done, y'all! I can't believe this! My second fic is getting so close to done! YAY! Sorry that the last chapter ended in a cheesy/ cliché way! I was kinda running low on creative juices, and not even writing a one-shot about Gerry or a Coach Yoast's hairpiece story cured my writer's block. Hope this one makes up for it! Parts between the little thingy are flashbacks! My stupid computer only lets me upload text files, and I can't use bold or italics, so I have to make the little symbols and punctuation thingies work. Oh, well! Es mi vida loca...

Chapter 10: This Side

Rachel's dad was found guilty on all charges of abuse. So he was put in jail. Rachel couldn't believe it. She loved her dad, but she was OK with him being in jail, because she couldn't live through many more beatings like the last one. She was treated for severe head injuries from hitting the wall.

She moved in temporarily with the Harrises, who were just like a second family. It was really funny to her how Rev became almost like another big brother to her. She only lived with them a short while, but Rev always wanted to know where she was going with Ronnie and when they would be home. It was nice, really. Laura was always saying things like, "Try living with him all your life."

But the Harrises were special to Rachel.

One day, Ronnie went to the Harrises. He knocked on the door, and Rev answered it. "Hi, Sunshine!" he said with one of what some girls called "Jerry 'Rev' Harris Patented Drop-Dead Smiles."

"Hi, Rev," Ronnie replied, distraction in his voice.

"Something wrong?" Rev asked, with concern.

"I need to talk to Rachel," Ronnie said.

"OK," Rev replied. He turned to face the steps. "Rachel, Sunshine's here!"

"Be down in a minute, Rev!" she called.

She brushed her hair, and ran down the stairs. "Hi, Ronnie."

"Hi, Rache."

She gave him a questioning look. Something was wrong. She could tell from his tone and the distraction in his blue eyes.

"You OK, baby?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. Can we go talk?"

"Sure! Let me go get my purse."

She returned momentarily with her purse and sunglasses. Spring was finally in Alexandria. Rachel couldn't wait until the days got warm enough to pull out the flip-flops. As much as she liked her new friends in Virginia, she was a California girl at heart.

They rode to a place where they loved to have picnics. It was a open place surrounded by woods that had just the right combination of shade and sunshine. They loved it there, and went there often.

"Rache," Ronnie said, gently putting his arm around her and rubbing her shoulder.

"Yeah?" she said, wondering why the sudden onslaught of tenderness. He was always tender, but this was very strange.

"I've got some bad news, and I don't know how to tell you..." he trailed off.

"Well, there's one way to do it. Be honest, and break it to me gently," she said, with a half-hearted smile.

"Umm...They got in touch with your mom..."

She interrupted him. "That's great, Ronnie!"

"But, listen," he took her face in his hands and lifted it up so that his deep blue eyes could find her sparkling green ones. "She wants you to live with her."

Her eyes were still shining. She couldn't believe it. Her mom wanted her back. "Ronnie, I can't believe it! This is awesome!"

"No. Your mom lives in New York City," He said, his voice quivering with emotion.

Her face fell. "Oh, no. Not..." she gasped, and began to cry. "Not that far..."

Ronnie put his arms around her. "It's OK."

The sobs shaking her body hurt Ronnie. They hurt more than if he had been crying them himself. She was so special to him, and he couldn't stand it. "Please don't cry."

"How am I supposed to not cry? You just told me that I have to leave this place and all the new friends I've made. I have to start all over yet again. I hated being a military kid, and now I'm not a military kid anymore, and I still have to move and start all over."

"I know, Rache, I know," Ronnie said, stroking her hair. "But, I'll visit you, and..."

"When are you gonna have time? And who knows when you'll get transferred again. Or when you'll find somebody else? Or..." a fit of sobs kept her from going any further.

"Rachel, I love you. Why would I look for somebody else? Why would I want somebody else?"

"Because... You don't have to look. Sometimes, love finds you, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Ronnie loved her so much. How could her dad just hurt her? How could her mom make him let her go. She was so different than anyone else, and he didn't know how he was going to get by without her. He'd lost her once, and, God help him, he couldn't lose her again. Before Rachel, he'd thought the term "love of my life" was clichéd beyond all reason. But now he understood what it meant.

She leaned against his chest. "When am I supposed to leave?" she asked in a soft tone, calmer than before.

He looked away from her, unable to say the words while looking into her face. "In three weeks."

"Three weeks!" She blurted an expletive angrily.

"Whoa, Rache!" Ronnie exclaimed. He couldn't help thinking that her language was a little strong. He'd heard her curse before, but never that strongly. 'Course, come to think of it, it was nothing he hadn't said before.

"Well, my mom leaves me with my dad, where he can just beat the crap out of me to his heart's content, and now she expects me to just pull up and leave so I can come live with her? No! I mean, I hafta go, but I don't hafta like it."

"No. You don't hafta like it. But don't hurt your mom. Don't judge her before you get to know her again."

"I don't know what to think, Ronnie. So maybe it ain't California, but I love Alexandria. And I love you, and Julie. And Laura, and Emma, and JoAnna, and Gerry, and Rev, and the other Titans. They're more family to me than my mother." She looked up at Ronnie, and saw that his chin was quivering. He was about to cry. How could this be happening to them? She saw a solitary tear glisten in his eye, then slide out and slip down his nose and onto her cheek.

Ronnie sqeezed her shoulders, and she felt something in his embrace she'd never felt before. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it made her heart ache. It was almost like he was desperate to hold onto her. Like he thought that if he let her go, he'd be letting her go for good. Which he would be in three short weeks.

"Look, Rachel," Ronnie said, looking down into her eyes. "No matter what happens, we've shared some pretty amazing things."

"Yeah," she said, smiling fondly as her memory took her back...

_"Thanks for coming over, Ronnie," Rachel said to the cute blonde who was helping her with her Spanish._

_"No problem. If you need anymore help, let me know," he replied, realizing he'd been looking at her eyes for WAY too long._

_"Is something wrong?" she asked, quickly becoming uncomfortable under his probing gaze. It was like he was looking for her soul in her eyes._

_"No," he answered, quickly looking away._

_"You won't find it there anyway," she said softly._

_"Won't find what?" he asked, confusion obvious on his face._

_"My soul. I keep it way deeper than that."_

_"How'd you know that was what I was looking for?"_

_"I just knew." She gave him a mysterious smile._

_"Well, if I'd found it, what would it have said?"_

_"That I really, really wish you'd kiss me," she replied in an uncharacteristically soft voice. She'd never been kissed before, but she knew that noone could give her a kiss more special than this young quarterback would._

_"Well, my soul was kinda thinkin' the same thing," he said with a smile. He'd never kissed a girl before, but he'd never wanted to this much._

_He gently put his left palm to her soft cheek and leaned close to her to press his soft lips to her softer ones. Rachel's nerves went wild. She'd never known it would be like this. Innocent, with an undercurrent of something more than she'd ever thought of... Ronnie couldn't believe it. If this was what a kiss was like, he hoped for many more opportunities to kiss. And to kiss Rachel Shannon._

"I'll never forget that kiss, Ronnie," she said.

"Me, either. I think that was when I knew that I loved you."

"I guess I need to get home and start packing," she said, resigning herself to the fact that she was leaving. And probably not coming back. Ever.

"I'll help you," he said, pulling her close to him. Their lips met in a long kiss, then she pulled away.

"We better go," she said.

Rachel sat silently as Ronnie drove them to the Harrises. She nearly broke down when "Surfer Girl" came on the radio. She slid closer to Ronnie and buried her face in his chest. She wished she had never run away. Part of her would rather have died at the hands of her own father than leave Ronnie.

She and Ronnie broke the news to the Harrises, but not without several tears being shed. Ronnie, Rev, and Laura began to help her pack, and Rachel wished she'd wake up the next day, and that everything was just a bad dream. Gerry's accident, running away, her dad abusing her, Nathan being dead, her mom being gone, and having to leave Ronnie. But this was real life, and she was going to have to live it.

A/N: Sorry if that kissing thing was a little wierd, or a little off. I've never been kissed before, so I kinda had to do a little guesswork. lol.


	11. Landslide

DISCLAIMER: The Original Titans are not mine. The Titans created by Disney aren't mine either. And tears fill eyes I don't own Ryan Hurst... full-fledged sobbing begins I also don't own "Landslide." I think it belongs to Stevie Nicks, but I heard the Dixie Chicks version first, so...Don't get me started on the Dixie Chicks... Ah, well, anyway...Ford owns Thunderbirds, and Chevrolet owns Camaros. I wish I owned the Basses' Camaro, but...There's one on eBay, but I have only a permit, and not nearly that much $$$. So, until I win the lotto (which is hard to do when you aren't legally allowed to buy a ticket, and you don't gamble anyway...) or marry a rich doctor/lawyer/Indian chief (long story, and it's not interesting anyway, so don't ask) I will have to settle for my mom's "tank" or my dad's big F-150. And let's just say that my opinion of my dad's F-150 is the same as Ronnie's opinion of his in Chapter 4...lol. 

MY NOTES: Gracias to all my reviewers! You are the greatest! Thanks especially to Sunny and Shannon! Happy Easter, a little late, y'all! This is my Easter Bunny thing... I think! Oh, well! The Easter Bunny left a plot bunny for my next story in my Easter basket.lol. I've been working really hard on a story about Gerry's kids. You know, the ones that I created in my last fic? I can't believe this! This thing was originally supposed to be a one-shot ficlet about Sunshine missing Cali, but it turned into a full grown plot bunny. Sorry, I'm over-using the bunny metaphor, huh? Special thanks to Shannon for letting me know that my "first kiss" thing wasn't stupid. I loves ya, chica! So, here I sit, eating a Cadbury caramel egg and being ready to get this over with. Not because I don't like it, but just because, I like the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a fic. This is probably my favorite fic by me... Even though I like Gerry better than Sunshine...

Chapter 11: Landslide

Rachel couldn't believe she was leaving. Time had flown, and she was going to move to New York on Saturday. It was Tuesday. She and Ronnie were in their last week of school together, and they were trying to enjoy it while they could. But Rachel couldn't enjoy it much, because she was leaving soon. It almost hurt everytime she kissed Ronnie, or he put his arm arm around her, because she didn't know when it would happen again. Or if it ever would.

That day, after school, Rachel found Julie. "Julie, can I talk to you real quick?"

"Sure," Julie replied. She followed Rachel to a shaded place. "What's up?"

"I...I just...I need to ask you to do me a favor, and I don't know how... I..."

"Rachel, you can ask me anything. I'll do what I can."

"I want you to... I want you to take care of Ronnie for me. I want him for the rest of this week, but when I leave, you take care of him." Rachel began to cry. She hated to cry. She hated everything about crying.

"Rachel, Ronnie's a big boy. He can take care of himself," Julie said with a smile.

"You know what I mean, though. I want you with him. I can't think of any one at this school I'd rather leave him with than you."

"But, we decided not to date. We have nothing in common."

"I think you have a whole lot more in common than you think you do," Rachel said softly. "I need to know that I'm leaving him with someone special. Someone like you."

"Oh, Rachel, you know that Sunshine's his own man. He ain't gonna just go out with me because you want him to."

"Well, maybe not for a while. But I think that Ronnie will find out that he cares about you. I know he does, Jules, and I'm not even Ronnie. But I can read him. He cares about both of us."

Julie shook her head. "I'll let him decide. But if he wants me, I'll take care of him."

Rachel found herself wondering how Ronnie had loved her for so long. So, maybe they were both a little different than everybody else, but...Rachel was always a little pessimistic. Julie was ever the optimist, and she was able to almost constantly do one thing that Rachel could rarely do. Make Ronnie Bass laugh. And inside of Rachel was a small part that she thought would never trust a man completely enough to marry him. And Ronnie deserved somebody that would one day be able to give him a family. Ronnie loved kids, and Rachel wasn't even sure she wanted kids. Ever. She wanted to be her own woman.

She wanted to go to UCLA and major in photojournalism. And Ronnie wanted to go somewhere on a football scholarship. Nothing they wanted was the same.

Julie was just the opposite. She wanted to have a big family and she said she wouldn't even mind being a stay-at-home mom. She was going to college, but she wanted to go to a two year technical college to become a nurse.

"Look," Rachel said, "I'm going to have to head home. Rev and Laura are probably waiting. And I have to talk to Ronnie about tomorrow night, but...Just think about it, Jules. Just think about it."

Julie nodded.

Rachel ran down the halls to find the only boy she'd ever loved.

Ronnie was standing with Petey, Rev, Julius, and Alan. "What's up, guys?" Rachel called as she approached them.

"Hey, babe!" Ronnie called, putting on his best smile.

"Hey," she replied, immediately giving him a hug.

"Where's mine, sweetness?" Petey asked, waggling his eyebrow.

"I can't tell ya," she replied.

"Why not?" Petey asked.

"'Cause it isn't a place that a lady should mention out loud. At least, not in public," she responded with a grin.

"Oh! Petey got told!" Julius exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. He stuck out his hand for a low five. Rachel slapped him one, and Julius said, "Check this out, y'all. This girl got more soul power than most sisters."

Rachel grinned. "Thank you. I think."

"Oh, it's a major compliment, baby doll," Petey said with a obnoxious grin.

Petey said he had to go, so he ran down the hall. "You seen his new car?" Rev asked.

"No. He has a new car?" Rachel replied.

"Yep. And he likes it better than his girlfriend," Ronnie added, his beautiful smile making Rachel's heart ache.

They went down the hall to check out Petey's new car. It was really nice. Rachel liked it alot. It was a light green '63 Thunderbird convertable. "Man, Petey!" she exclaimed. "This is awesome!"

"So will you go out with me one time?" he asked with a playful grin.

Rachel playfully bonked his head with her American Government book. He looked hurt. "Now, sweetness, that's no way to treat your boyfriend's best friend."

"Oh, come on, Petey. You know I'll never go out with you. Especially after the things Julius and Big Blue told me about yo' momma."

Julius cracked up. Blue gave Rachel a grin, and Ronnie whispered, "Oh, boy...Here we go..."

Rachel, however, didn't elaborate on exactly WHAT Blue and Julius had told her. She just gave Petey her best, "I'll never tell you anything" smile, and turned around. "Hey, Rev, you ready?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, shooting a meaningful look Ronnie's way.

Rachel hadn't missed the look, but she had no idea what it meant.

"Oh, uh...Rache, you want to go to the park with me before you go home? I need some help on my geometry homework..."

She gave him a questioning look, but when she received no answer, she said, "Yeah, I guess so..."

"Good, let's go." He took her hand, and the two of them left Petey and the others to go to the Camaro.

After they had been in the park about an hour, Ronnie suddenly seemed to catch on to the geometry homework, and he said, "Well, baby, we better get you back before Rev has a conniption."

Rachel laughed. "Yeah. He can tend to overreact, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. I don't want him to get peed off at me."

"Me, either."

Ronnie leaned across the table to give her a soft kiss, then stood up and grabbed his books. He insisted on carrying her book bag, too, and she laughed at what they had come to refer to as "Southern gentleman crap."

They rode to Rev's laughing about first one thing and then another, both having pushed it to the back of their minds that they had only three and a half days left together. Ronnie got out of the car and then opened her door for her. She climbed out and took the arm he offered. The two of them walked inside together, and...All of the Titans and their girlfriends, and all of Rachel's other friends were standing in the living room under a big banner that said, "WE'LL MISS YOU, RACHEL!" It was signed by everybody.

It was all Rachel could do not to cry. She had the best friends in the entire world. Everyone was there, from Gerry in his wheelchair to Derrick and Big Blue. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. She found herself travelling around the room, hugging everyone. She started at one end of the room, with Gerry, then Emma, then Julie...By the time she had hugged everyone, Gerry exclaimed, "Good grief! Me and Emma didn't do all that food shoppin' so we could sit around waitin'!"

Julius said, "Yeah! Not to be a rude guest or anything, but I'm hungry!"

"Fine!" Rachel said. "Let's eat!"

They went into the kitchen, where there were all kinds of sodas and foods. Rachel, as honoree was forced to go first, followed by Ronnie, then the rest could just fall into place.

Rachel found a spare minute and walked over to Gerry, who was, for once, by himself, too. Emma was talking to Julie, and Julius was with his girlfriend/Petey's older sister, Rhonda.

"Hey, Rachel!" Gerry said, with, what was reffered to as the "Classic Bertier Smile."

"Hey, Gerr. How's it goin'?"

"Fine, I guess. Just...OK... How 'bout with you?"

"Fine. I just...I can't believe it, Gerr. For the first time in my life, I feel like there's nobody who understands. Everything and everybody I love are just being snatched away...I don't understand it myself...I mean, I loved my mom, but...what if she's changed? Or what if she doesn't love me anymore? I mean, she's left me before. Why wouldn't she do it again?" she brushed a tear from her cheek.

Gerry put his big hand on her shoulder. She found herself wondering what had made her open up to the big former-linebacker. "Believe it or not, Rachel, it sounds alot like bein' paralyzed."

"Huh?"

"Well, alot of the things I loved, like playin' football, and doin' my normal activities, not to mention my Camaro," (he added the Camaro with a smile) "were snatched away from me after my accident. I wasn't even sure that all of the people I loved were gonna stick around. And I felt like nobody understood. Or cared. And I tried to shut people out. Including Ma. And she loves me more than anything. She wants to help. And some things I won't let her do for me. But some things I can't do. And it is the worst thing I've ever experienced having to let other people help me do things that I always did on my own. But don't shut Sunshine or your other friends out. Give 'em a chance. They may not understand, but they'll do what they can. That's all anybody CAN do."

She looked up from her seat beside Gerry and said, "Thanks, Gerr. Thanks alot."

"Anytime. You can give me a call anytime you need me, and I swear Emma won't mind," he grinned. "At least not too much. But how could she help being jealous with a handsome guy like me?"

Rachel laughed. It felt good to laugh. She gave Gerry a hug and a teary smile as "Surfer Girl" came on the radio, which Petey had made sure was on. The guy couldn't stand a party without music. He said it was like peanut butter without jelly. "I better go. I promised this dance to Ronnie."

"Sure," Gerry replied.

She walked over to Ronnie and closed her eyes as his arms went around her. She thought of their first dace, which had been to this song. Ronnie was a terrific dancer despite the other Titans' allegations that "for a white brother, he's totally without rhythm." Rachel wished that the moment would never end. She held onto Ronnie for as long as she could. The music had stopped, and she still kept holding on. She loved him so much.

They walked over to the sofa and sat down side by side. "Are you OK, Rache?" Ronnie asked with concern.

She looked across the room at Gerry, who gave her a reassuring smile, and said, "Yeah. I'm gonna be fine."

Saturday came all too quickly. Ronnie, Julie, Emma, and Gerry, as well as the Basses and Harrises gathered to tell her goodbye. She gave them all hugs and cried a whole lot. And then it was time. Ronnie drove her to the airport alone in his truck. They had shipped most of her stuff, but Ronnie joked that with all the things she would pack, they were going to have to take the truck anyway.

As they rode, Rachel turned to Ronnie. "I want you to be with Julie, Ronnie."

He shook his head at first, but as she begged, he finally agreed. He said that it would take some time, but if she really wanted him to, he would.

He stayed with her in the airport until her plane boarded. Then, he took her in his arms one last time and kissed her. She clung to him, feeling sorrow rush through her. As tears flooded her eyes, she said, "Goodbye, Ronnie. I'll love you 'til I die."

"And I'll love you longer," he replied. He didn't take his eyes off of her until she was on the plane. Then he watched the plane take her away.

A/N: OK! Done! Sorry! I didn't intend for it to be sad at first, but those darn "muses." They start yelling at you and they won't shut up until you do what they want you to. Oh, well. My next fic has to be happy! What is this? All my fics end up being 11 chappies. Well, I only have 2 fics, but, you know what I mean...

Later! And if you've read all this, I send you a computer hug. Whatever that is... D


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